Two problems surrounding the universality of human rights
Date
2018
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tartu Ülikool
Abstract
This thesis points at two main issues in the concept of the universality of
human rights. First, the obstacles it poses to the notions of the sovereign and
the political as defined by Carl Schmitt. Second, the paradox of human rights
formulated by Hannah Arendt remains unsolved, since the contradiction at its
heart has not changed since its formulation. The third chapter attempts to
illustrate how these theoretical concepts are relevant for our understanding of
human rights crises involving state actors analyzing some of the events that
took place during the 2015 migrant crisis in Europe. The thesis concludes
pointing at the need to end the misconceptions derived from the idea of the
universality of human rights in the mind of the public.
Description
Keywords
practical philosophy, universality, human rights, universaalsus