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The Battle for Human Rights in Ethical and Global Politics

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Human rights are a strong point of contention in the context of ethics and global politics. This is due to the vast diversity of perspectives that exist within the international world system – which makes it increasingly to difficult to define a truly global conception of human rights today. At the core of human rights perspectives is the suggestion that there should be a ‘basic’ notion of universal human rights. However, this is widely contested. In this essay I will critically interpret the notion of human rights universality in the contemporary realm of global politics. Observing the merits and downfalls of a universal notion of human rights, I will open the concept to challenge by grappling with the definition of ‘thick’ and ‘thin’ human rights. In diverse world system characterized by transnational cooperation I will address the fundamental question: is there a human ‘right to politics’, or more precisely, do universal human rights require democracy? And more importantly, can universal human rights be upheld in the international world system? In conclusion, I suggest that there is in fact a universal notion of human rights, but whether or not it can be realised in the context of the diverse and dynamic world system is questionable.

To discuss the possibility of universal human rights, we must consider a universal definition of human rights. This is particularly important to distinguish human rights between cultures, as well as from other kinds of rights, such as

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