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Power and human rights
A persistent tension in int’l system
Assistant professor of regional studies at UT
The relationship between power and human rights in the international system is the story of a tension that has persisted from the very inception of the global order (dating back to World War II) to the present. In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted with an elevated ideal: the creation of an order in which the inherent dignity of the human being would be respected beyond borders and political powers. Yet reality has demonstrated that human rights have always been shaped and implemented in the shadow of power.
At the structural level, the international system is founded upon the principle of state sovereignty. This principle, itself a product of the Peace of Westphalia, grants states exclusive authority over their territories and populations. This is precisely the point at which tension begins: how can the human rights of a country’s citizens be defended when the very state that is obligated to protect those rights is itself their violator?
In practice, power affects human rights in three forms. First, hard military and economic power, which determines which human rights violations elicit an international response and which are ignored. The genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia, when comparing the differing reactions of the international community to other genocides, constitute salient examples of this selectivity. Second, soft cultural power, which shapes the universal definition of human rights. The debate between universalism and cultural relativism is, in reality, a debate about who possesses the power to define these rights. Third, institutional power, which is embodied in the structure of the United Nations Security Council and the veto right of the five great powers. Nevertheless, this narrative constitutes only half of reality. Human rights are themselves a form of power; normative power that can alter state behavior, mobilize social movements, and define political legitimacy. The growth of international courts, supervisory mechanisms, and the activities of non-governmental organizations all indicate the institutionalization of this normative power.
The principal challenge of today’s international system is the creation of equilibrium between these two types of power. On the one hand, political power realities cannot be ignored; on the other hand, human rights must not be permitted to become merely an instrument in the hands of great powers for advancing their own interests. The solution lies in strengthening multilateral organizations, increasing the participation of global civil society, and most importantly, creating genuine state commitment to the universal principles of human rights.
Ultimately, the relationship between power and human rights is not a binary, zero-sum relationship, but a dynamic dialectic that shapes the future of the international system.