Human rights discourse and practice as crisis management

Insights from the Algerian case

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3978632
AutoresRolf Schwarz (Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, autor de correspondencia)
Año2002
Volumen7
Número2
Páginas57-85
Fecha de publicación2002-06-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe Journal of North African Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1362-9387 • E-ISSN: 1743-9345
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13629380208718466
OpenAlexW2000553159
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas39

In recent years, academic work in the field of International Relations has tended to concentrate on the impact of norms and ideas on the changing behaviour of states. Constructivism has evolved as the main challenger to rationalist theories. Constructivists emphasize that state behaviour is not primarily determined by economic or military conditions but by internationally held norms and ideas, such as human rights. According to this approach, changing state behaviour with regard to human rights is determined by transnational human rights networks, which exert moral pressure on states which violate human rights so that they comply with international standards. This paper challenges these theoretical assumptions with regard to the reality of human rights in Algeria between 1962 and 2001. The empirical analysis of the Algerian case demonstrates that Algeria has not been vulnerable to moral pressure from a transnational human rights network. The various changes in the human rights record of Algeria during the period examined can best be explained by existing rationalist approaches which concentrate on socio‐economic and political interests. This paper proposes an alternative explanation regarding changing state behaviour in the field of human rights. In the Algerian case, these changes should be seen as a means of the ruling elite to secure and maintain its power

Constructivism (international relations · Elite · Epistemology · Field (mathematics · Human rights · International human rights law · International regime · International relations · International relations theory · Law and economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · State (computer science · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · Law · Political Conflict and Governance