240142 VO+UE VM3 / VM1 - Under Pressure? (2023W)

Human rights represent a central paradigm of international politics, especially in the context of development policy and development cooperation. Not only are development policies increasingly assessed as to their human rights quality, but the "right to development" is itself codified as a human right, which is supposed to guarantee access to "economic, social, cultural and political development" for all people. Therefore, an understanding of what human rights are, what human rights treaties and institutions exist, what the central criticisms of human rights are, and what current challenges put human rights under pressure or also offer new opportunities for them, is of central importance for development research.
On the one hand, the course will be dedicated to the topic of human rights in general. This means that a general introduction to basic approaches, concepts and theories of human rights and to international and regional human rights systems and instruments (e.g. UN human rights system, human rights institutions and instruments in the context of the AU, ASEAN, inter-American and European human rights system) will be offered.
On the other hand, the course will also address key points of criticism that are repeatedly raised in the context of human rights and are relevant for international development research. For although human rights - for example through the right to equality, the prohibition of discrimination, the right to freedom of expression or minority rights, which are core elements of human rights - contain the promise of the respect of human dignity and the development of free, democratic and non-discriminatory societies, they are also characterized by remarkable contradictions, such as inclusions and exclusions or the construction of the 'other'. The course will therefore discuss, among other things from a postcolonial and feminist perspective, questions of universalism, Euro- and androcentrism, the role of the nation-state, etc., which are increasingly becoming virulent in the context of current global political and social challenges. Three of the most important contemporary challenges will be the focus of the course: climate change, deepening inequalities, and migration/asylum.
On the basis of case studies and the study of academic literature and political and legal documents, the students will be guided to elaborate the different topics of the course.
Methods: Introductions to the respective topics by the course instructor, reading and discussing literature/documents, short contributions by the students, various exercises, short films, discussion of the literature/documents.