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Unsettling times for human rights: remarks on ‘The politics of rights’

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 December 2020

Jennifer M. Welsh Open the ORCID record for Jennifer M. Welsh [Opens in a new window]
Jennifer M. Welsh*
Affiliation:
Research Chair in Global Governance and Security, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
*
Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

This commentary focuses on Kratochwil's observation about the gap between the pervasiveness of human rights language and its susceptibility to perverse effects and abuse. After demonstrating that Kratochwil shares much of the contemporary skepticism about the alleged foundations and legitimacy of human rights, the comment elaborates on his claims that human rights were and are particularistic and that ‘rights talk’ produces unintended consequences for the individuals whose autonomy was meant to flourish. He questions but ultimately does not answer whether the broader anthropocentric ethos that underpins Western societies, and legal systems, may one day be superseded by ‘non-rightist’ approaches.

Keywords

Anti-foundationalismbacklashhuman rights movementspopulismpost-colonialpost-Westphalian
Type
Symposium: In the Midst of Theory and Practice: Edited by Hannes Peltonen and Knut Traisbach
Information
International Theory , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , November 2021 , pp. 567 - 573
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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