After the Second World War, the notion of human rights acquired virtually universal validity around the globe. Nevertheless, concrete issues related to the promotion and protection of human rights continue to be highly controversial. Based on an historical overview of the institutionalization of human rights, this lecture presents key points of contention and dilemmas surrounding the question: Whose rights should be protected, and by whom? We will examine the ambivalent role of the state as the main reference point for human rights protection both within its own boundaries and abroad, and discuss potential ways of navigating this and other issues connected to global rights discourses and practices.

Our discussion will be partly based on excerpts of the novel In the Light of what we Know by Zia Haider Rahman (2 pages). Please make sure to read them ahead of the lecture.

Teacher: Kilian Spandler

Slides: IR1122 Lecture.pdf

Obligatory Reading:

Inayatullah, Naeem. 2019. ‘Why do some people think that they know what is good for others?’ (Chapter 21), in Global Politics: A New Introduction, edited by Jenny Edkins and Maja Zehfus. New York: Routledge, pp. 430-453.

Shani, Georgio. 2019. ‘Who has rights?’ (Chapter 25), in Global Politics: A New Introduction, edited by Jenny Edkins and Maja Zehfus. New York: Routledge, pp. 524-544.

Zia Haider Rahman (2014): In the Light of what we Know. Novel. Picador, pp. 221–223, 387–388.

Discussion questions:

Which different positions on Western efforts to promote and protect the rights of people in the Global South can you identify based on the excerpts from the novel?
Is it our responsibility to help others in need by sharing our knowledge and political achievements?
Is it possible to avoid paternalism and respect local agency while supporting the rights of others?

Suggested extra-reading:

Inayatullah, Naeem & Blaney, David. 2004. International Relations and the Problem of Difference. New York: Routledge.

Shams, Alex. 2017. 'The Weaponization of Nostalgia: How Afghan Miniskirts Became the Latest Salvo in the War on Terror', Ajam Media Collective, 6 September. https://ajammc.com/2017/09/06/weaponization-nostalgia-afghan-miniskirts/

Zizek, Slavoj. 2005. ‘Against Human Rights’, New Left Review 34:July–August, pp. 115–33.

Relevant novels, short stories, feature films, documentaries etc.

Hugo Blick (writer and director, 2018): Black Earth Rising. TV Series. BBC Two and Netflix.

See this clip for a scene from the series:

Ava DuVernay (writer and director, 2016): 13^th. Documentary. Netflix.

Viet Dinh (2016): After Disasters. Novel. Little A.

Zia Haider Rahman (2014): In the Light of what we Know. Novel. Picador.

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (2006): Wizard of the Crow. Novel. Random House.