Why Human Rights Still Matter in Contemporary Global Affairs

397 Pages·2020·12.86 MB·English

by  Mahmood Monshipouri

“An outstanding collection of expert essays on many enduring philosophical
issues and contemporary human rights debates. Every chapter provides avenues
for further reading, suggestions for future research and ideas for improving
human rights protection.”
— David Cingranelli, Co-Director of the Human Rights Institute,
Binghamton University, SUNY, USA
“Are human rights outdated in our post-liberal world? This book brings
together a diverse and distinguished set of scholars who argue for the continuing
relevance of human rights in the struggle for social justice across the globe.”
— Jack Donnelly, Andrew Mellon Professor, Josef Korbel School of
International Studies, University of Denver, USA
“This timely, well-researched, and provocative book should be compulsory
reading for everyone who cares about the future of human rights in a time of
xenophobic nationalism, authoritarianism, and climate change denial.”
— Eric Stover, Faculty Director of the Human Rights Center,
University of California, Berkeley, USA
“Why Human Rights Still Matter in Contemporary Global Affairs inspires much-
needed optimism about the future of human rights, despite challenges from
many directions. The book’s diverse authors provide constructive proposals for
how human rights advocates can effectively attack today’s most salient global
human rights concerns, such as economic inequality, and environmental justice
in a world confronted by climate change.”
— Lisa Sundstrom, Co-Director of the International Relations Program,
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

WHY HUMAN RIGHTS STILL
MATTER IN CONTEMPORARY
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
This book elucidates why human rights still matter in contemporary global
affairs, and what can lead to better protection of international human rights in
a post-liberal order.
It blends theoretical, empirical, and normative perspectives, while providing
much-needed analysis in light of the perils of populism, authoritarianism, and toxic
nationalism, as well as highlighting the hopes with which people around the world
view human rights in the new millennium. Systematically combining theoretical per­
spectives from across the disciplines with numerous case studies, it demonstrates not
only the complexities of the domestic conditions involved, but also the ways in
which human dignity can be preserved and promoted during periods of rapid change
and uncertainty. Finally, the book addresses the question of how to protect human
rights in a world in which the active promotion of democratic values and enforce­
ment of human rights may not be necessarily aligned with evolving economic and
geopolitical interests of many great and diverse powers on the global scene. As such, it
is a timely intervention for human rights as a concept which has been attacked and
eroded by the instability in our world today.
This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of human rights in
politics, law, philosophy, sociology, and history and to humanitarian bodies,
practitioners, and policy makers.
Mahmood Monshipouri is Professor of International Relations at San Fran­
cisco State University and a Lecturer of Middle Eastern Politics at the Global
Studies/International and Area Studies, University of California, Berkeley, USA.
Routledge Studies in Human Rights
The Routledge Studies in Human Rights series publishes high-quality and cross-
disciplinary scholarship on topics of key importance in human rights today. In
a world where human rights are both celebrated and contested, this series is com­
mitted to create stronger links between disciplines and explore new methodological
and theoretical approaches in human rights research. Aimed towards both scholars
and human rights professionals, the series strives to provide both critical analysis and
policy-oriented research in an accessible form. The series welcomes work on spe­
cific human rights issues as well as on cross-cutting themes and institutional
perspectives.
Series Editors: Mark Gibney, UNC Asheville, USA, Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen, Uni­
versity of Copenhagen, Denmark,andB onny Ibhawoh, McMaster University, Canada.
Extending International Human Rights Protections to Vulnerable
Populations
Raymond A. Smith
Fundamental Rights Challenges in Border Controls and Expulsion of
Irregular Immigrants in the European Union
Complaint Mechanisms and Access to Justice
Edited by Sergio Carrera and Marco Stefan
Why Human Rights Still Matter in Contemporary Global Affairs
Edited by Mahmood Monshipouri
WHY HUMAN RIGHTS
STILL MATTER IN
CONTEMPORARY
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
Edited by Mahmood Monshipouri
First published 2020
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2020 selection and editorial matter, Mahmood Monshipouri; individual chap­
ters, the contributors
The right of Mahmood Monshipouri to be identified as the author of the
editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been
asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Monshipouri, Mahmood, 1952-editor.

Title: Why human rights still matter in contemporary global affairs /

edited by Mahmood Monshipouri.

Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2020. |

Series: Routledge studies in human rights | Includes bibliographical

references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020000165 (print) | LCCN 2020000166 (ebook) |

ISBN 9780367901479 (hardback) | ISBN 9780367901455 (paperback) |

ISBN 9781003022909 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Human rights. | Human rights–International

cooperation. | World politics–21st century.

Classification: LCC JC571 .W4227 2020 (print) | LCC JC571 (ebook) |

DDC 323–dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020000165

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020000166

ISBN: 978-0-367-90147-9 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-367-90145-5 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-003-02290-9 (ebk)

Typeset in Bembo

by Swales & Willis, Exeter, Devon, UK
CONTENTS

List of contributors x
Acknowledgments xvi
1 Why human rights still matter in contemporary global affairs 1
Mahmood Monshipouri
PART I
Framing the human rights discourse 25
2 How do human rights matter? 27
Michael Goodhart
3 Broadening human rights: the case for a pluralistic approach 43
Hussein Banai and Anthony Tirado Chase
4 Making human rights meaningful through practice: lessons from
the Middle East 62
Shadi Mokhtari
5 Assessing regional human rights systems: from convergence to
divergence 78
Daniel J. Whelan and Andrew C. McWard
viii Contents
PART II
Human rights practice: legal and moral responsibility 101
6 State responsibility and international law 103
Mark Gibney
7 Human rights and humanitarian action will endure: the case of
the International Committee of the Red Cross 122
David P. Forsythe
8 Denial and debilitation: environmental rights and the harm of
climate change denial 140
Richard P. Hiskes
9 Transitional justice: from accountability to peace 157
Mahmood Monshipouri and William V. Dunlap
PART III
Protecting economic rights in a globalizing world 175
10 Labor rights as human rights: theoretical foundations and
practical implications 177
Carol C. Gould
11 The trajectory of the right to food in Brazil: the debate between
means and access 195
Anthony Pahnke
12 Social movements, development policy, and human rights 215
Shareen Hertel and Rajeshwari Majumdar
13 Migrant labor and human rights in the Gulf Cooperation Coun­
cil (GCC) countries 231
Zahra Babar
14 Human rights and inequality 249
Rhoda E. Howard-Hassmann
Contents ix
PART IV

Human rights challenges in a fractured, violent, and

intolerant world 265

15 Threats to freedom of the press 267

Andrei G. Richter
16 Addressing religious intolerance in an increasingly illiberal world 285

Barbara Ann Rieffer-Flanagan
17 Neoliberalism and women’s rights 303

Zehra F. Kabasakal Arat
18 Climate refugees, forced migrants, and the Syrian crisis 322

Mahmood Monshipouri
PART V

The way forward 345

19 The resilience of rights in a post-liberal world 347

Alison Brysk
Selected bibliography 357

Index 365