Globalizing Concern for Women’s Human Rights: The Failure of the American Model

179 Pages·2000·5.477 MB·English

by  Diana G. Zoelle (auth.)

Globalizing Concern for
Women’s Human Rights
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Globalizing Concern
f
for Women’s Human Rights
The Failure of the American Model
Diana G. Zoelle
ISBN 978-1-349-42312-5 ISBN 978-0-312-29969-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780312299699
GLOBALIZINGCONCERNFORWOMEN’SHUMANRIGHTS
Copyright © Diana Zoelle, 2000. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States
of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner what-
soever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied
in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth
Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Reprint of the original edition 2000
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Zoelle, Diana.
Globalizing concern for women’s human rights / by Diana Zoelle.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Women’s rights—Government policy—United States. 2. Human rights—
Government policy—United States. 3. Women’s rights—International coopera-
tion. 4. Human rights—International cooperation. 5. United Nations.
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women I. Title.
HQ1236.5.U6 Z64 2000
323.3’4—dc21 99–055570
CIP
Design by Letra Libre, Inc.
First Published: July, 2000
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In memory of my beloved uncle,
James Wiley Spurk
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Preface xi
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 “Ain’t I a Human?”:
U.S. Civil Rights Legislation as
an Inadequate Remedy to Violations
of Women’s Human Rights 9
Chapter 2 The Convention on Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women:
Radical Notions of Human Being? 31
Chapter 3 Globalizing Concern for Women’s Human Rights:
Reconceiving the Terms of the Discourse 53
Chapter 4 International Human Rights
and American Foreign Policy:
The Schizophrenic State 73
Chapter 5 The Injustice of Equality:
Women, International Human Rights,
and Liberal Democracy in America 101
Appendix The International Convention on Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 125
Notes 137
Bibliography 157
Index 165
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Acknowledgments
Like most authors, I have incurred much debt in the course of my work
on this manuscript.
Probably no long-term effort is ever completed absent significant influ-
ences, particularly of those people close to us. As I recall people who have in-
fluenced my thinking, I am reminded that this experience has given me more
than it could ever have cost me in time and energy. Throughout my struggle
to formulate, complete, and finally revisit this manuscript, many wonderful
people taught me about the joy to be found in intellectual, emotional, and
psychological connection. Some of them must be mentioned here.
The people who directly influenced the early stages of my writing are rel-
atively easy to identify and, of course, impossible to thank adequately. The
faculty and staff in the Department of Government and Politics at the Uni-
versity of Maryland-College Park are all ineradicably etched in my memory.
Richard Claude was the single most important influence in my choice of
topic. He challenged me to take my interest in feminist theory beyond the
narrow boundaries I had set for myself. Ron Terchek’s unfailing support
while I explored my topic and his confidence in me provided a solid foun-
dation for my work. Jim Glass and Richard Brown provided invaluable cri-
tiques of early drafts of the manuscript. Virginia Haufler and Melissa
Matthes patiently and meticulously assessed the clarity and structural and
theoretical soundness of the entire manuscript. While they may not agree
entirely with some of my assertions, all these people have informed my
thinking and, in some sense, directed the course of my career.
I owe immeasurable gratitude to the faculty and staff of the Joan B. Kroc
Institute for International Peace Studies at Notre Dame for providing an at-
mosphere conducive to the substantive development of my research. Patri-
cia Davis, RaimoVayrynen, and George Lopez made my two years at the
institute as a visiting scholar possible. During my stay at Notre Dame, the
Department of Government and International Studies provided me the op-
portunity to teach a course investigating the topic of women’s rights as
human rights. Developing the course and discussing ideas with my students
aided significantly in furthering my research.