Papers by Susan Longfield Karr
International Journal, 2005
THE HISTORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS From Ancient Times to Globalization Micheline R. Ishay Berkeley: Univ... more THE HISTORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS From Ancient Times to Globalization Micheline R. Ishay Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004. x, 45opp, US$6o.oo cloth (ISBN 0-520-23496-0), US$24-95 paper (ISBN 0-520-23497-9)In this comprehensive and sweeping history of human rights, Micheline R. Ishay embeds the developments in thinking about human rights over thousands of years in a review of the historical successes its proponents have had in realizing them. No one to my knowledge has undertaken such an ambitious effort. The breadth highlights the discovery of broad historical trends and allows the author to comment on key debates in the study of human rights.I shay cleverly blends six arguments about controversies in the study of human rights with a largely chronological review of the major milestones in their application. She first corrects the mistaken modern secular notion that religion and human rights are antithetical. Indeed, what we know now as human rights have their unmistakable origins in all of the great religious traditions. In a lovely discussion, she addresses the contributions of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam, among others. It is the practice of religion, not theology, that deserves the blame for this feeling of mutual exclusiveness.Her second claim is all the more interesting considering the first: she writes that the European contribution to the notion of human rights has been the strongest of all of the world's civilizations. This is a somewhat bold assertion, given the tendency among those concerned about human rights to note the frequent departures of western practice from its preaching, a fact that she does not shy away from. The western liberal tradition is often dwelt on to the neglect of socialist contributions to human rights thinking. Ishay's third claim is that notions of economic and social equality have been very significant in the development of modern human rights practice. The reaction and opposition to the pernicious effects of the Industrial Revolution were just as important as opposition to the ancien regime. This is probably the book's most important historical point, as the practice of Stalinist regimes and their concomitant human rights travesties have obscured the efforts particularly of social democratic parties in the west in promoting human rights, both before and after the second World War.The fourth claim is more prescriptive than descriptive. By way of an exploration of the role that nationalism has played in the acceptance of the right of self-determination, Ishay draws the very wise conclusion that while the pursuit of the rights of cultural groups can be a powerful force for good, these groups must nevertheless be held to the standard of certain universal principles. …
BRILL eBooks, Sep 15, 2022
BRILL eBooks, Sep 15, 2022
Reassessing Legal Humanism and its Claims
Reassessing Legal Humanism and its Claims, 2015
Oxford Scholarship Online, 2018
For humanist sixteenth-century jurists such as Guillaume Budé, Ulrich Zasius, Andrea Alciati the ... more For humanist sixteenth-century jurists such as Guillaume Budé, Ulrich Zasius, Andrea Alciati the ‘rule of law’ was central. In response to the use of law and legal theory to legitimize arbitrary forms of authority, they called for substantive reforms in legal education and practice, which could alleviate the dangers of masking the arbitrary will of rulers with the language of security, utility, and the common good. By focusing on fundamental categories such as ius, natural law, and ius gentium they effectively argued for a universal ‘rule of law’ that could hold political and legal authorities to a higher criterion of justice. In so doing, they redefined fundamental legal categories, ideas, and terms that continue to underpin and structure modern understandings of universal jurisprudence and international law to this day.
... I also wish to especially thank. Tamar Herzog, William Novak, and James Hankins. ... Page 5. ... more ... I also wish to especially thank. Tamar Herzog, William Novak, and James Hankins. ... Page 5. Corteguera, Cameron Hawkin.s, Lorraine Daston, Clifford Ando, Annabel Brett, Brian Cummings, and most especially, Martin van Gelderen. However, all errors within remain my own.. ...
History of European Ideas, 2011
This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or s... more This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
This working paper argues for renewed attention by scholars of early modern political and legal t... more This working paper argues for renewed attention by scholars of early modern political and legal thought as to how and why humanist jurists invoked the authority of rights-natural and customaryto legitimize or to critique the expansion of authority underway within Europe in the early sixteenth century. It suggests that attention to legal humanists' discussions of natural law, ius, and ius gentium can offer new insights into one of the most complex problems addressed within the literature: the transformation of natural rights into human rights within the history of early modern political and legal thought. As such this working paper consists primarily of a review of the historiography, wherein legal humanism is either characterized as an incongruity, is dismissed, or is omitted altogether from the history of modern rights theories. After exploring the dominant literature, this essay then provides a broad comparative overview of why it is worth revisiting legal humanism for historians and human rights scholars alike.
BRILL eBooks, Sep 15, 2022
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Papers by Susan Longfield Karr