Book Reviews by Stephen Hopgood
H-Diplo
A set of brief commentaries on Michael Barnett's new book on American Jewish internationalism, pa... more A set of brief commentaries on Michael Barnett's new book on American Jewish internationalism, past and present, with discussion of the current political moment
Papers by Stephen Hopgood
Human Rights Futures
Contents Contents Abbreviations Acknowledgments Executive Summary i Recommendations v Methodology... more Contents Contents Abbreviations Acknowledgments Executive Summary i Recommendations v Methodology ix I. Introduction: Counter-Terrorism, Human Rights, and the SCO II. Overview of the SCO A. SCO structure and decision-making bodies B. Economic cooperation among SCO member states C. Expansion of SCO influence internationally i. Membership ii. Role in regional security and stability iii. Role in addressing Afghanistan conflict iv. Cooperation in non-security sectors v. Cooperation with multilateral organizations III. The International Counter-Terrorism Framework and Human Rights 27 A. The international counter-terrorism framework B. International counter-terrorism bodies and human rights inputs IV. SCO Compliance with the International Framework for Promotion and Protection of Human Rights 39 A. Defining terrorism B. Structural and rhetorical challenges i. Lack of transparency and oversight mechanisms ii. Regional and international frameworks iii. National conditions and relativism C. Human rights records of SCO member states D. China's influence and impact within the SCO i. The Three Evils doctrine: Counter-terrorism with Chinese characteristics ii. The Three Evils doctrine in practice: Targeting of and impact on Uyghur E. Harmonization of legislation in SCO member states
What is at stake, politically, in abandoning claims that one's actions are legitimized by som... more What is at stake, politically, in abandoning claims that one's actions are legitimized by some form of transcendent authority? Analysing this question moves us beyond human rights debates about foundationalism, and asks whether the efficacy of claims made by human rights advocates is undermined by their inability, conceptually and politically, to make the case that human rights are moral truths rather than a more temporal and secular doctrine. Through an analysis of Amnesty International and its ambivalent grounding in Kantian notions of morality, and by considering competing religious and national claims to authority, I assess whether or not human rights activism suffers from an inescapable political ineptitude that must eventually see it decline in the face of more ardent and politically effective authority claims.
For the first time in one collected volume, mainstream and critical human rights scholars togethe... more For the first time in one collected volume, mainstream and critical human rights scholars together examine the empirical and normative debates around the future of human rights. They ask what makes human rights effective, what strategies will enhance the chances of compliance, what blocks progress, and whether the hope for human rights is entirely misplaced in a rapidly transforming world. Human Rights Futures sees the world as at a crucial juncture. The project for globalizing rights will either continue to be embedded or will fall backward into a maelstrom of nationalist backlash, religious resurgence and faltering Western power. Each chapter talks directly to the others in an interactive dialogue, providing a theoretical and methodological framework for a clear research agenda for the next decade. Scholars, graduate students and practitioners of political science, history, sociology, law and development will find much to both challenge and provoke them in this innovative book.
Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, 2006
An analysis of the relevance of human rights to litigation and exploitation of intellectual prope... more An analysis of the relevance of human rights to litigation and exploitation of intellectual property rights in the UK. The paper considers the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998, and other human rights instruments, materials and case law. The paper concludes that while human rights are now firmly located in the IP landscape, only in limited cases will they necessarily be effective to prevail over IP, or reshape it. The paper suggests a more pervasive role for human rights in statutory interpretation, which may alter the underlying balance of interests. The "non-commercial" comprises those circumstances which most would find it difficult to justify, beyond their professional persona: reliance on patents to restrict access to essential medicines, interfering with rights to life and health and reliance on copyright and database rights to prevent downloading of essential information, which can be inconsistent with rights to health and education. The "commercial" category includes disputes between parallel importers asserting rights to enjoy
American Foreign Environmental Policy and the Power of the State, 1998
Facing the Music", Metro, 2001
The modern global humanitarian system takes the form it does because it is underpinned by liberal... more The modern global humanitarian system takes the form it does because it is underpinned by liberal world order. Now the viability of global liberal institutions is increasingly in doubt, a backlash against humanitarianism (and human rights) has gained momentum. I will argue that without liberal world order, global humanitarianism as we currently understand it is impossible, confronting humanitarians with an existential choice: how might they function in a world which doesn’t have liberal institutions at its core? The version of global humanitarianism with which we are familiar might not survive this transition, but maybe other forms of humanitarian action will emerge. What comes next might not meet the hopes of today’s humanitarians, however. The humanitarian alliance with liberalism is no accident, and if the world is less liberal, its version of humanitarian action is likely to be less liberal too. Nevertheless, humanitarianism will fare better than its humanist twin, human rights, in this new world.
Perspectives on Politics
Since their emergence in the late eighteenth century, doctrines of universal individual rights ha... more Since their emergence in the late eighteenth century, doctrines of universal individual rights have been variously criticized as philosophically confused, politically inefficacious, ideologically particular, and Eurocentric. Nevertheless, today the discourse of universal human rights is more internationally widespread and influential than ever. In Evidence for Hope, leading international relations scholar Kathryn Sikkink argues that this is because human rights laws and institutions work. Sikkink rejects the notion that human rights are a Western imposition and points to a wide range of evidence that she claims demonstrates the effectiveness of human rights in bringing about a world that is appreciably improved in many ways from what it was previously. We have invited a broad range of scholars to assess Sikkink’s challenging claims.
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Book Reviews by Stephen Hopgood
Papers by Stephen Hopgood