Jack Donnelly
Biographic Data
| ID | 960792 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jack Donnelly |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jack |
| FAMILY NAME | Donnelly |
| SIGNATURE | DONNELLY J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Denver |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6260-9514 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 68 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 690 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 68 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1973 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2020 |
| H-INDEX | 14 |
Levels, centers, and peripheries
This article develops a ‘spatio-political’ structural typology of (national and international) political systems, based on the arrangement of homogeneous or heterogeneous political centers and peripheries in layered political spaces. I then apply this typology to Eurocentric political systems from the high middle ages to today. Rather than see no fundamental change across nearly a millennium (the system remained anarchic) or a singular modern tra…
Recht Und Entwicklung Allgemein / Law and Development in General
The Concept of Human Rights
First published in 1985. In this study, Donnelly distinguishes between "having a right" and "being right" and elaborates the distinction with great subtlety to show that rights have to be understood as action and not as a possession. This is done with such clarity and good sense that he is able to cast light on all aspects of the often confusing discussions of the natures and usages of "right". He illuminates an astonishing range of issues, from …
The Past, the Present, and the Future Prospects
Concept of Human Rights
Systems, levels, and structural theory
Most in International Relations today, whatever their view of structural realism, would agree with Robert Jervis that Waltz’s theory is “the most truly systemic of our theories of international politics.” I argue that it is, in fact, the antithesis. Waltz, despite his systemic starting point, produced an analytic theory. Waltz’s redefinition of a system as “composed of a structure and of interacting units” replaced the “systemic” understanding of…
The discourse of anarchy in IR
Contemporary International Relations (IR) typically treats anarchy as a fundamental, defining, and analytically central feature of international relations. Furthermore, it is usually held that IR since its inception has been structured around a discourse of anarchy. In fact, however, until the 1980s anarchy was rarely employed as a central analytical concept, as I show by examining 145 books published between 1895 and 1978. The conceptual and ana…
Normative Versus Taxonomic Humanity
Today we see human dignity and human rights as inextricably linked. As the International Human Rights Covenants put it, “these rights derive from the inherent dignity of the human person.” This article highlights the recent and radical nature of this connection by offering an episodic overview of the history of (human) dignity in the Western tradition. It is now widely accepted that the idea of human rights—equal and inalienable rights held by ev…
State Sovereignty and International Human Rights
I am skeptical of our ability to predict, or even forecast, the future—of human rights or any other important social practice. Nonetheless, an understanding of the paths that have brought us to where we are today can facilitate thinking about the future. Thus, I approach the topic by examining the reshaping of international ideas and practices of state sovereignty and human rights since the end of World War II. I argue that in the initial decades…
Theories of International Relations
The 5th edition of this best-selling textbook provides a systematic and comprehensive introduction to the main theoretical approaches in the study of international relations. While maintaining focus o
Bringing Sociology to International Relations
Functional differentiation has long been at the heart of sociological thought, and as such has become a defining feature in the evolution of modern society; one which distinguishes it from pre-modern societies which have instead typically differentiated by means of segmentation, or stratified social systems such as class. Drawing on the latest developments on differentiation theory in international relations and sociology, this book brings togeth…
Theories of International Relations
Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice
In the third edition of his classic work, revised extensively and updated to include recent developments on the international scene, Jack Donnelly explains and defends a richly interdisciplinary account of human rights as universal rights. He shows that any conception of human rights—and the idea of human rights itself—is historically specific and contingent. Since publication of the first edition in 1989, Universal Human Rights in Theory and Pra…
The Elements of the Structures of International Systems
Structural international theory has become largely a matter of elaborating “the effects of anarchy.” Simple hunter-gatherer band societies, however, perfectly fit the Waltzian model of anarchic orders but do not experience security dilemmas or warfare, pursue relative gains, or practice self-help balancing. They thus demonstrate that “the effects of anarchy,” where they exist, are not effectsof anarchy—undermining mainstream structural internatio…
The differentiation of international societies
Taking off from a recent article in this journal by Barry Buzan and Mathias Albert, I present a framework of structural differentiation as an alternative to IR’s standard tripartite conception of the elements of structure. Rather than employ ideal type models, though, as Buzan and Albert do, I present a more open-textured, multidimensional account of differentiation. I also emphasize the systemic nature of structural analysis. The elements of str…
Rethinking political structures
‘Structure’ in the discipline of International Relations, for all the criticism of Kenneth Waltz’ work, still typically means the Waltzian triad of ordering principles, functional differentiation, and distribution of capabilities. I argue, however, that this triad not only does not in Waltz’ particular presentation but cannot provide an adequate account of political structures. In its place I sketch a five-part framework of the elements of politi…
Human Rights and Social Provision
The Relative Universality of Human Rights
Human rights as an international political project are closely tied to claims of universality. Attacks on the universality of human rights, however, are also widespread. And some versions of universalism are indeed theoretically indefensible, politically pernicious, or both. This essay explores the senses in which human rights can (and cannot) be said to be universal, the senses in which they are (and are not) relative, and argues for the "relati…
Sovereign Inequalities and Hierarchy in Anarchy
How is unrivalled American power reshaping 21st-century international society? Is the United States an empire, in fact or in the making? This article attempts to elaborate the conceptual resources required to answer such questions. I focus on multiple forms of hierarchy in anarchy and diverse practices of sovereign inequality—concepts that most mainstream perspectives ignore, find paradoxical, or even dismiss as self-contradictory. After defining…
Theories of International Relations, Third Edition
Direitos humanos internacionais
O artigo trata da política externa norte-americana para direitos humanos no pós-11 de setembro. O argumento central é o de que as preocupações humanitárias foram obscurecidas pelo recrudescimento das questões de segurança na agenda política norte-americana desde os ataques terroristas em 2001. Ademais, o próprio conceito de segurança foi alterado. A ideologização provocada pela guerra antiterrorismo fez com que interesses em segurança passassem a…
Genocide and humanitarian intervention
Has post-Cold War international society developed new legal and political norms of justifiable humanitarian intervention? In what follows it is argued that, at least in the case of genocide, the answer would appear to be yes. The focus of the article, however, is on the complex interactions of the competing demands of law, morality and politics. It is argued that changing conceptions of security and sovereignty, driven in part by the deeper penet…
Theories of International Relations
Realism and International Relations
Realism and International Relations provides students with a critical yet sympathetic survey of political realism in international theory. Using six paradigmatic theories - Hans Morgenthau, Kenneth Waltz, the Prisoners' Dilemma, Thucydides, Machiavelli, and Hobbes - the book examines realist accounts of human nature and state motivation, international anarchy, system structure and the balance of power, international institutions, and morality in …
Unfinished Business
International human rights
After laying out a typology of international regimes, eight international and regional human rights regimes are analyzed in order to (1) examine the utility of regime analysis in noneconomic issue-areas, and (2) assess the nature, extent, and evolution of international cooperation on human rights. There has been a remarkable growth of international action since 1945, when human rights were not even widely accepted as a legitimate issue-area. This…
Taking Laughter Seriously
Human Dignity, Human Rights, and Political Regimes
It is often argued that internationally recognized human rights are common to all cultural traditions and adaptable to a great variety of social structures and political regimes. Such arguments confuse human rights with human dignity. All societies possess conceptions of human dignity, but the conception of human dignity underlying international human rights standards requires a particular type of "liberal" regime. This conclusion is reached thro…
Cultural Relativism and Universal Human Rights
Human Rights and Human Dignity
It is regularly argued that human rights are not a Western discovery and that non-Western societies have long emphasized the protection of human rights. Such claims, however, are based on a confusion of human rights and human dignity. A concern for human dignity is central to non-Western cultural traditions, whereas human rights, in the sense in which Westerners understand that term-namely, rights (entitlements) held simply by virtue of being a h…
Sovereign Inequalities and Hierarchy in Anarchy
How is unrivalled American power reshaping 21st-century international society? Is the United States an empire, in fact or in the making? This article attempts to elaborate the conceptual resources required to answer such questions. I focus on multiple forms of hierarchy in anarchy and diverse practices of sovereign inequality—concepts that most mainstream perspectives ignore, find paradoxical, or even dismiss as self-contradictory. After defining…
Human Rights
This is an edited text of the fifth John Vincent Memorial Lecture delivered at the University of Keele on 9 May 1997 in which Jack Donnelly attacks the still common scepticism about international human rights - although from an unorthodox angle
The discourse of anarchy in IR
Contemporary International Relations (IR) typically treats anarchy as a fundamental, defining, and analytically central feature of international relations. Furthermore, it is usually held that IR since its inception has been structured around a discourse of anarchy. In fact, however, until the 1980s anarchy was rarely employed as a central analytical concept, as I show by examining 145 books published between 1895 and 1978. The conceptual and ana…
The Elements of the Structures of International Systems
Structural international theory has become largely a matter of elaborating “the effects of anarchy.” Simple hunter-gatherer band societies, however, perfectly fit the Waltzian model of anarchic orders but do not experience security dilemmas or warfare, pursue relative gains, or practice self-help balancing. They thus demonstrate that “the effects of anarchy,” where they exist, are not effectsof anarchy—undermining mainstream structural internatio…
Rethinking political structures
‘Structure’ in the discipline of International Relations, for all the criticism of Kenneth Waltz’ work, still typically means the Waltzian triad of ordering principles, functional differentiation, and distribution of capabilities. I argue, however, that this triad not only does not in Waltz’ particular presentation but cannot provide an adequate account of political structures. In its place I sketch a five-part framework of the elements of politi…
Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice
Law, Morality, and the Relations of States
Human Rights and Development
The conventional wisdom of the sixties and early seventies held that, except in the very long run, rapid development and human rights are competing concerns. Needs satisfaction, income equality, and civil and political rights were regularly held to be luxury goods. An examination of the development experiences of Brazil and South Korea, however, shows much of this conventional wisdom to have been mistaken. Rapid growth and development can be achi…
International Human Rights
Human Rights
Human Rights as Natural Rights
1. There are subtle differences in emphasis, however, between each of the major formulations, human rights, natural rights and the rights of man, and each has advantages and disadvantages. Natural rights stresses a grounding in human nature. It also refers to a tradition of thought which includes Locke, Paine, and Jefferson among its most prominent exponents and suggests a connection with the older idea of natural law. Such resonances add richnes…
Human Rights at the United Nations 1955-85
Charges of bias and “double standards” at the United Nations, arising from the organization's “capture” by the Third World and the Soviets, are commonplace. I seek to investigate the empirical validity of such changes as applied to the organization's human rights work over the last thirty years. Bias in the selection of priority rights is examined through a quantitative study of the use of meeting time in both ECOSOC's Commission on Human Rights …
Human Rights and Foreign Policy
Five recent books reveal the beginnings of important new work in conceptualizing the place of human rights concerns in national foreign policies. The moral force of claims of human rights requires that they be given serious consideration in foreign policy. Philosophical analysis also shows that categorical moral distinctions between personal (or civil and political) and economic and social rights must be abandoned. Any justifiable priority for on…
Normative Versus Taxonomic Humanity
Today we see human dignity and human rights as inextricably linked. As the International Human Rights Covenants put it, “these rights derive from the inherent dignity of the human person.” This article highlights the recent and radical nature of this connection by offering an episodic overview of the history of (human) dignity in the Western tradition. It is now widely accepted that the idea of human rights—equal and inalienable rights held by ev…
State Sovereignty and International Human Rights
I am skeptical of our ability to predict, or even forecast, the future—of human rights or any other important social practice. Nonetheless, an understanding of the paths that have brought us to where we are today can facilitate thinking about the future. Thus, I approach the topic by examining the reshaping of international ideas and practices of state sovereignty and human rights since the end of World War II. I argue that in the initial decades…
International Human Rights
The differentiation of international societies
Taking off from a recent article in this journal by Barry Buzan and Mathias Albert, I present a framework of structural differentiation as an alternative to IR’s standard tripartite conception of the elements of structure. Rather than employ ideal type models, though, as Buzan and Albert do, I present a more open-textured, multidimensional account of differentiation. I also emphasize the systemic nature of structural analysis. The elements of str…
Human Rights, Humanitarian Crisis, and Humanitarian Intervention
invitation to contribute to this volume was the opportunity to reassess these views in light of the profound international changes of the past few years. The new political environment of the post-Cold War world is clearly somewhat less unconducive to humanitarian intervention. In fact, human rights, and issues of humanitarian politics more generally, have achieved an inter national prominence at least as great as at any other time in modern histo…
Universal Human Rights in Theory and Practice
Assessing National Human Rights Performance
Comparative quantitative assessment of human rights is hampered by the length of the list of internationally recognized rights. Not only is the list so long that it is hard to imagine gathering adequate data without an army of researchers (the International Human Rights Covenants contain more than thirty substantive articles, encompassing at least twice as many separate rights), but the results of such a comprehensive effort would almost certainl…
Conscience and Religious Morality
One would be hard pressed to deny the ordinary man's trust in the moral deliverances of his conscience. Joseph Butler put the case for the infallibility of conscience, when he remarked: ‘Had it strength, as it had right; had it power, as it had manifest authority; it would absolutely govern the world’ ( Fifteen Sermons , ii, 13, 14). I think it obvious, in retrospect, that Butler underestimated its ‘strength’ and ‘power’, while overextending its …
Logical Analysis and Contemporary Theism
Calvinist Thomism
Scaling the Ivory Tower
Domenico Bollani, Bishop of Brescia
Christopher Cairns. Domenico Bollani, Bishop of Brescia: Devotion to Church and State in the Republic of Venice in the Sixteenth Century. (Bibliotheca Humanistica et Reformatorica, 15.) Nieukoop: B. De Graaf, 1976. 28 pls.+302 pp. Dfl.95. - Volume 31 Issue 1
Natural Law and Right in Aquinas' Political Thought
Natural Law and Right in Aquinas' Political Thought
Recent trends in UN human rights activity
How have UN human rights goals and priorities evolved in the 1970s? The moderate compromise represented by the International Bill of Rights, as completed by the Covenants in 1966, has been undone in the seventies. A point-by-point examination of the major principles enunciated in General Assembly resolution 32/130 of 16 December 1977, which codified the trends of the decade and stands as the authoritative statement of the UN's strategic goals and…
How are rights and duties correlative
Human Rights as Natural Rights
1. There are subtle differences in emphasis, however, between each of the major formulations, human rights, natural rights and the rights of man, and each has advantages and disadvantages. Natural rights stresses a grounding in human nature. It also refers to a tradition of thought which includes Locke, Paine, and Jefferson among its most prominent exponents and suggests a connection with the older idea of natural law. Such resonances add richnes…
Human Rights and Foreign Policy
Five recent books reveal the beginnings of important new work in conceptualizing the place of human rights concerns in national foreign policies. The moral force of claims of human rights requires that they be given serious consideration in foreign policy. Philosophical analysis also shows that categorical moral distinctions between personal (or civil and political) and economic and social rights must be abandoned. Any justifiable priority for on…
Human Rights and Human Dignity
It is regularly argued that human rights are not a Western discovery and that non-Western societies have long emphasized the protection of human rights. Such claims, however, are based on a confusion of human rights and human dignity. A concern for human dignity is central to non-Western cultural traditions, whereas human rights, in the sense in which Westerners understand that term-namely, rights (entitlements) held simply by virtue of being a h…
Injustice, Inequality and Ethics
Human Rights
The human rights priorities of the UN
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Cultural Relativism and Universal Human Rights
Law, Morality, and the Relations of States
Taking Laughter Seriously
Human Rights and Development
The conventional wisdom of the sixties and early seventies held that, except in the very long run, rapid development and human rights are competing concerns. Needs satisfaction, income equality, and civil and political rights were regularly held to be luxury goods. An examination of the development experiences of Brazil and South Korea, however, shows much of this conventional wisdom to have been mistaken. Rapid growth and development can be achi…
A Matter of Principle
International human rights
After laying out a typology of international regimes, eight international and regional human rights regimes are analyzed in order to (1) examine the utility of regime analysis in noneconomic issue-areas, and (2) assess the nature, extent, and evolution of international cooperation on human rights. There has been a remarkable growth of international action since 1945, when human rights were not even widely accepted as a legitimate issue-area. This…
Human Dignity, Human Rights, and Political Regimes
It is often argued that internationally recognized human rights are common to all cultural traditions and adaptable to a great variety of social structures and political regimes. Such arguments confuse human rights with human dignity. All societies possess conceptions of human dignity, but the conception of human dignity underlying international human rights standards requires a particular type of "liberal" regime. This conclusion is reached thro…
The Concept of Human Rights
Liberalism, Human Rights, and Human Dignity
Do international standards regarding human rights require the existence of a liberal regime? This was the thrust of Rhoda Howard and Jack Donnelly's essay in the September 1986 issue of this Review. Neil Mitchell takes vigorous issue with this contention, arguing first and foremost that Howard and Donnelly have not defined liberalism satisfactorily. Howard and Donnelly present a spirited rejoinder
Assessing National Human Rights Performance
Comparative quantitative assessment of human rights is hampered by the length of the list of internationally recognized rights. Not only is the list so long that it is hard to imagine gathering adequate data without an army of researchers (the International Human Rights Covenants contain more than thirty substantive articles, encompassing at least twice as many separate rights), but the results of such a comprehensive effort would almost certainl…
Political science (58 works) · Law (49 works) · Sociology (44 works) · Law (34 works) · Human rights (33 works) · Law and economics (31 works) · Philosophy (29 works) · Politics (26 works) · Epistemology (23 works) · Human Rights and Development (20 works)