As the liberal international order recedes, China has emerged as the principal challenger of global governance institutions that promote human rights. While China used to act as an ostensible norm...Show moreAs the liberal international order recedes, China has emerged as the principal challenger of global governance institutions that promote human rights. While China used to act as an ostensible norm taker in the sphere of human rights, it is increasingly asserting its own authoritarian human rights norms ‘with Chinese characteristics’ on the global stage. Using Chinese ‘tianxia’ theory and realism, this thesis endeavours to uncover how China is working to subvert international human rights governance with a case study of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC); the preeminent global forum for safeguarding human rights. A discourse analysis of China’s ‘counter- institutionalisation’ of the HRC, reveals a strategic effort to block criticism, prevent independent monitoring, and change established conceptions about the very meaning of human rights. The robustness of the HRC’s mandate thus appears to be under growing duress. How other states respond to China’s affront may determine the direction of global human rights governance for decades to come.Show less
Gradually, the authority and capability of IOs to undertake tasks that enhance the enjoyment of human rights have proliferated, but these growing capacities also expand the potential for rights to...Show moreGradually, the authority and capability of IOs to undertake tasks that enhance the enjoyment of human rights have proliferated, but these growing capacities also expand the potential for rights to be violated. This has led to increasing efforts to hold IOs accountable for the consequences of their behavior. The costs for IOs of being accused of human rights violations in terms of punishment and lost legitimacy creates the incentive for them to avoid accountability. Yet how IOs avoid accountability for human rights violations has not been substantially studied. This thesis fills this gap by applying a theory of blame management to the context of Frontex, which in recent years has faced scrutiny for violating the non-refoulement rights of migrants at sea. In doing so this thesis challenges the popular understanding of IOs as institutions committed to the high road in global governance, particularly on matters of human rights. Through a single case study of Frontex this thesis scrutinizes and ultimately finds support for the argument that when put in the spotlight for alleged human rights violations, accountability and blame are avoided through denial, delay, diversion, and delegation rather than accepted.Show less
The Convention on the Rights of the Child went into force over thirty years ago. It is the most widely ratified treaty in the world, yet many children all over the world find themselves in...Show moreThe Convention on the Rights of the Child went into force over thirty years ago. It is the most widely ratified treaty in the world, yet many children all over the world find themselves in situations where their rights are violated. This thesis aims to research the Committee on the Rights of the Child’s influence on compliance of member states with the objectives of the Convention. Compliance with objectives on the minimum age of criminal responsibility in juvenile justice in Denmark shall be analysed through a single-case study. The theoretical expectation is that through interactions with the member state, the Committee has an agenda-setting influence on the domestic policy-making process, which in turn increases compliance. The research finds that when the member state finds itself in a condition of non-compliance with a particular objective, that the Committee’s monitoring and reporting mechanism provides an agenda-setting function and opportunity for Danish parliamentarians to initiate policy that increases compliance.Show less
What are different ideas, perceptions, or historical processes that are involved in North Korean human rights discourses produced by U.S. organizations? Is there a certain reason why American...Show moreWhat are different ideas, perceptions, or historical processes that are involved in North Korean human rights discourses produced by U.S. organizations? Is there a certain reason why American organizations express particular interest in the ‘human rights’ of North Korea? Based on a historical analysis of Western human rights and its recent development towards a form of post-humanitarianism, this thesis analyzes how the ideas of both conservative evangelicals and liberal democrats coincide to frame North Korean human rights discourses in ways that are agreeable to Western audiences. Although the organizations come from opposite stances in domestic politics, the commonalities underlying both stances are expected to reflect deep-rooted national identities that developed throughout the history of the American human rights regime. The thesis claims that a historical entanglement between decolonization, Cold War tensions, foreign policy strategies, and deeply ingrained national identities create an ‘American’ version of human rights. Moreover, although the evangelicals and the democrats differ on the extent or way of identifying the distance between ‘us the observers’ and ‘them the sufferers’, both sectors presume a selective and self-serving post-humanitarian distance that does not contemplate the structural circumstances of the sufferers. Instead, the organizations reflect on the observer’s own sense of morality, either religious duties or international security concerns, at the expense of morally essentializing or victimizing the sufferers based on Western liberal assumptions about human nature. Without trying to discount the importance of religion or security issues in U.S. international relations, this thesis aims to raise the awareness of deeply embedded power relations, both historically inherent and currently reenacted by human rights discourses, that can be easily mystified in the name of ‘universal human rights’.Show less
The thesis examines the effects on the EU’s normative power on the ratification of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment with China. The analysis applies a social constructivist framework to...Show moreThe thesis examines the effects on the EU’s normative power on the ratification of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment with China. The analysis applies a social constructivist framework to test whether there are causal links between the EU’s commitment to its core norms and values and the stagnating ratification of the CAI in light of human rights violations in China. The research aims to answer to the question: What explains the lack of consensus over the ratification of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment with China? Using process tracing, the thesis examines the Human Rights Dialogue, China’s Compliance with International Human Rights Law, sanctions and the EU’s Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime as causal mechanisms. The thesis concludes that the EU’s normative power has been one of the key reasons behind that the fact the CAI has not yet been ratified.Show less
Taiwan’s flourishing economy together with its values, such as human rights and democracy, increase Taiwan’s international visibility and question Taiwan’s inability to join the UN, especially...Show moreTaiwan’s flourishing economy together with its values, such as human rights and democracy, increase Taiwan’s international visibility and question Taiwan’s inability to join the UN, especially since they share the same values. The PRC’s open disapproval of Taiwan’s independence as well as its power and influence hinders the UN from accepting Taiwan as a new member state. This thesis aims to research how the dynamics between the US and China within the structure of the UN affect Taiwan’s bid to become an internationally recognised state as well as how Taiwan tries to influence this process from outside the UN. Qualitative research together with a historical case study analysis and a conducted interview display that both the US and China use soft power as political strategies to gain more influence within the UN for their objectives, such as the support or opposition of Taiwan’s entry into the international community. Similarly, Taiwan also uses soft power to gain more allies and to increase its eligibility to enter the UN. Moreover, this thesis finds that divergent understandings of human rights divide the UN regarding their position on Taiwan’s official status and affect the decision-making process regarding Taiwan’s independence.Show less
A master thesis on the factors that contributed to the ongoing Rohingya crisis in Myanmar and the ineffectiveness of the international human rights framework and United Nation Institutions.
Child marriage is connected to several socio-economical and sociocultural factors. Many people make the misunderstanding to link the practice to religion or a specific country/area or claim that ...Show moreChild marriage is connected to several socio-economical and sociocultural factors. Many people make the misunderstanding to link the practice to religion or a specific country/area or claim that "only poor people marry their daughters off at an early age". To what extent are girls protected by their countries laws, and are the underlying causes the same in the three countries or are there significant differences?Show less
With China’s rise, many aspects of the liberal international order have been challenged. As China ardently defends its sovereignty, respect for international human rights norms and standards are an...Show moreWith China’s rise, many aspects of the liberal international order have been challenged. As China ardently defends its sovereignty, respect for international human rights norms and standards are an important facet of this. Therefore, incorporating China into the current global system remains a complex issue. Nevertheless, as a founder of the postwar international system, the United States maintains its position as a defender of universal human rights around the world. With the rise of President Xi Jinping in 2012, defending these rights became even more imperative. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, this paper outlines and details President Obama and his administration’s attempts at shaping China’s behavior through the weaponization of human rights discourse. Weaponizing rights can transform them from altruistic ideals into ideological tools within geopolitics.Show less
Since requesting financial assistance from European and international partners in 2010, Greece has been involved in three consecutive macroeconomic adjustment programmes negotiated with the Troika...Show moreSince requesting financial assistance from European and international partners in 2010, Greece has been involved in three consecutive macroeconomic adjustment programmes negotiated with the Troika of international institutions: the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. The European heads of states decided to provide the conditional assistance at the gatherings of the Euro Summit, an organisation where they also founded the Eurogroup and set conditions for Greece to start negotiations. After preparatory work by the Troika, the Eurogroup and the IMF shaped conditions and adopted decisions on the loan programmes. The Eurozone states, which contributed the majority of financing, channelled their financial assistance through the Greek Loan Facility, the European Financial Stability Facility, and the European Stability Mechanism. The IMF participated financially in the first two programmes, while remaining in stand-by in the third. Policy conditionality was specified in Memoranda of Understanding and formally adopted in Council Decisions adopted by the Council of the EU. It mainly consisted of Greece passing a number of austerity measures combined with specifically prescribed structural reform, a strategy based on the theory of expansionary austerity. The specific institutional rules and setup have given the international institution the power to shape Greece’s public spending and legislation in key areas such as labour, social field and more. Taking into account this impact and the consideration that institutions are the most important factors in the occurrence of poverty, while examining the theoretical and practical implications of austerity, this paper builds on the position proposed by Thomas Pogge that deliberate and predictable actions that lead to poverty can be deemed a violation of human rights. In particular, it explores whether the impacts of the conditionalities imposed on Greece by the mentioned international organisations can implicate their responsibility for the effect of their policies on the state of human rights in Greece, in particular the right to work and the right to social security.Show less
The current COVID-19 pandemic has grown to be one of the worst pandemics ever faced. In order to fight this virus, measures have been adopted that restrict personal freedom. It is therefore of...Show moreThe current COVID-19 pandemic has grown to be one of the worst pandemics ever faced. In order to fight this virus, measures have been adopted that restrict personal freedom. It is therefore of great importance to acknowledge the human rights costs of all the measures imposed to tackle COVID-19. The purpose of this study is to examine to what extent human rights were violated, with specific attention to freedom from discrimination, freedom of information, freedom of movement and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention during the current pandemic. To fulfill the aim, a qualitative content analysis was applied, which analyzed five speeches by Western countries and five speeches by Asian countries. Differences and similarities were examined and subsequently the impact on human rights was analyzed. Six main themes emerged: mitigation, collaborative behavior, support, speech, treatment and justification. The key findings of this study are that human rights were evidently violated during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, none of the analyzed speeches attempts to justify its measures in relation with human rights. Additionally, only a few speeches openly state from where their information originates. This is problematic and simultaneously open for improvement.Show less
Exploring the salience of LGBT-norms in Japan through analyzing the cultural match, political rhetoric, domestic interests, domestic institutions and socializing forces surrounding those norms.
When Jimmy Carter was inaugurated in 1977, he promised to make his commitment to human rights absolute. The deeply torn and racially divided region of Southern Africa would become his...Show moreWhen Jimmy Carter was inaugurated in 1977, he promised to make his commitment to human rights absolute. The deeply torn and racially divided region of Southern Africa would become his administration’s stage to illustrate their moralistic foreign policy which was based on the promotion of human rights. Whereas Carter’s commitment to human rights was motivated by his personal experiences during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, his National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, was led by strategic considerations which could advance the American position in the Cold War. These conflicting approaches to a human rights policy resulted in a vague, often hypocritical, and quickly shifting policy, which started with a strong moral undertone and focus on human rights, yet ended with economic and strategic considerations as the top priorities of the administration. Through its in-depth analysis of primary sources, this study has sought to research the change in the Carter administration’s human rights policy towards South Africa, thereby also discussing the general changes within the foundations of the administration’s foreign policy.Show less
