HUMAN RIGHTS AND GLOBAL DEMOCRACY

Human Rights and Global Democracy



Human Rights and Global Democracy

Introduction

There is an ongoing debate on the effects of globalisation on international politics and democracy. Democratic activists and theorists are in a constant state of anxiety with respect to the adverse effects which globalisation is leaving on democracy. The common concern of these people revolves around three crucial points:

Deficiency in democratic control, fundamentally in governance structures of organisations like International Monetary Fund and European Union.

Differences in the scope of several global issues as economic development, climatic changes on one hand and representation of democratic authorities in the current political bodies on the state level, on the other hand.

Democratic inequalities among states, as the richest and most influential states, are dominating in interactions of international level.

In response to these concerns, democratic theorists presented several proposals, believed to suffice the need of establishing global democracy. Nevertheless, the base of these proposals is on assumptions such as giving human rights a major portion in the political framework around the globe. A noteworthy point, which arises as a result of such assumptions, is the undertheroized relation between human rights and global democracy (Beetham, 1999).

On a more serious note, human rights never appears to be the centre of global democracy, as state level governments along with governmental institutions forms agreements among themselves not considering the welfare of the citizens by neglecting basic human rights. Thus, when it comes to observing human rights political structures around the globe have been proven to be a failure in adhering to its fundamental principles.

Discussion

The Neglect of Human Rights

With the improvements in the trade relations and contributions towards the world economy, the financial and governmental strengths of countries are at test. The quality of decisions made by these institutions is the determinant of fair distribution of gains these ...