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This course is dedicated to the specific study of human rights within the wider field of socio-political transformation and development in the Global South. The first part of the course provides an interdisciplinary introduction to international human rights from a philosophical, historical and legal perspective. Students will learn about the different generations of human rights, the international context they have each emerged in, as well as the main legal instruments and institutions responsible for their implementation. A central question of interest will be why and, more importantly, to what extent, governments have ceded parts of their national sovereignty to international institutions and accepted legal obligations. In the second part, we will examine human rights in the context of different political regimes in order to understand under which conditions they are either respected, protected and fulfilled, or (systematically) violated. Guided by the question of the relationship between democracy, development and human rights, we will analyse the vulnerability of civil and political rights in 'new democracies,' in particular in post-genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity settings. In the third and final part, the course addresses contemporary controversies and tensions between theory and practice. Students will learn to critically evaluate and discuss the concept of universalism in a world of cultural particularism. They will apply their knowledge to problems concerning the economic, social and cultural rights of women and minority groups and understand the phenomenon of second-class citizenship in democracies. A majority of case studies used in this seminar will be from Latin America, complemented by cases from other geographical regions. |
