Home- News
- Twitter
- The Series
- Reviews
- Sign Up
- Questions? Comments?
-
Posts
So, will Hurricane Sandy put climate change on the agenda for whoever wins tomorrow? Depending on who wins, I’m guessing “maybe” or “absolutely, definitively, emphatically not.”
Photo from VF’s May 2006 issue: illustration by John Blackford; original photograph by Cameron Davidson.
FYI, an interesting, original take on the subject and what our response should be can be found in John Broome’s recent book, Climate Matters.
The Numbers—Why Climate Matters in a Warming World:
1) 2° Celsius
2) 565 Gigatons
3) 2,795 Gigatons
- via Bill McKibben in Rolling Stone: rollingstone.com/politics/news/global-warmings-terrifying-new-math-20120719
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Watch President Sang-Hyun Song’s address on the history of the ICC.
Looking ahead, the biggest variability in climate predictions, scientists say, comes not from uncertainty about emerging patterns but from uncertainty about what humans will do — or not do — to combat global warming.
As Kofi Annan and other world leaders gather this Saturday for the Geneva meeting, many questions still remain on how they will address the situation in Syria: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18647494
Before the Supreme Court’s likely announcement tomorrow of its opinion on health care legislation, an overview of how the case made it to the Supreme Court.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/11/13/us/politics/challenges-to-the-health-law.html?- Former President Jimmy Carter on Human Rights
A Cruel and Unusual Record:
“At a time when popular revolutions are sweeping the globe, the United States should be strengthening, not weakening, basic rules of law and principles of justice enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But instead of making the world safer, America’s violation of international human rights abets our enemies and alienates our friends.”
- New York State Court Of Appeals rules that New York Human Rights Law doesn't apply to public schools
Source: Huffington Post New York
Interesting article on how climate change destroyed an ancient civilization (and what we might take away from that today).
Kathryn Sikkink’s great new book The Justice Cascade: How Human Rights Prosecutions are Changing World Politics just won the 2012 Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights Book Award.
The award recognizes the book that “faithfully and forcefully reflects Robert Kennedy, his concern for the poor and powerless, his struggle for honest and even-handed justice, his conviction that a decent society must assure all young people a fair chance, and his faith that a free democracy can act to remedy disparities of power and opportunity.” Past winners of the RFK Book Award include Vice President Al Gore, Congressman John Lewis, Taylor Branch, Toni Morrison, Jonathon Kozol, and Michael Lewis.
Congratulations Kathryn!
Woody Allen once said 90% of success is showing up. Does that go for lectures, too?
“Our mission therefore, if we choose to accept it, is to make showing up at our lectures and talks fun and interesting, although there is nothing more cringe-making than deliberate attempts to make things fun and interesting. Still, if we don’t make the effort, people will make their own amusement, even when present as room meat. There’s another American movie in which a college professor complains to his wife that a particular student was leafing through a newspaper during his lecture. ‘Well that’s an improvement,’ she replies, ‘at least he’s reading.’
These days, as students in class peer at their laptops, there is no reason to be concerned that they are not reading. Or writing for that matter. But what is it that they are actually doing as they sporadically bash away at their keyboards? Here’s a clue. If they are looking anxious they are probably trying to make notes. If they are looking relaxed and cheerful, no doubt some young person’s web thing, not you, is responsible. And if they have a wicked glint in their eyes, they are giving you a disappointingly low score for “hotness” on RateMyProfessors.com.”
From Jonathan Wolff, “Lecturers, are you talking to ‘room meat’?”
Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
“A poll due for release on Wednesday shows that a large majority of Americans believe that this year’s unusually warm winter, last year’s blistering summer and some other weather disasters were probably made worse by global warming. And by a 2-to-1 margin, the public says the weather has been getting worse, rather than better, in recent years.
The survey, the most detailed to date on the public response to weather extremes, comes atop other polling showing a recent uptick in concern about climate change. Read together, the polls suggest that direct experience of erratic weather may be convincing some people that the problem is no longer just a vague and distant threat.”
From Justin Gillis, “In Poll, Many Link Weather Extremes to Climate Change”
Photo from Gene Blevins/Reuters
In case this past weekend didn’t have quite enough holidays for your liking, it also featured World Health Day (on Saturday). Here, Guardian columnist and author Jonathan Wolff discusses his new book, The Human Right to Health, and why heath can indeed be thought of in terms of human rights (and what that means in practice), with Amnesty International’s Widney Brown.
“Should the Supreme Court rule the insurance mandate to be unconstitutional, the mandate’s opponents will hail its decision as a victory for both freedom and limited government. The opposite will be so.
The court, instead, will have ruled for the one-sided autonomy of free-riders and rejected the freedom of providers, taxpayers, and consumers, subjecting them all to what is essentially a form of stealing.
Providers will be legally required, not to mention under the influence of professional obligations going back to the Hippocratic Oath, to deliver services to the free-riders without knowing or often even being able to determine whether they will be compensated.
To have to work without compensation is a core characteristic of forced labor. The providers then will be forced to finagle third-party consumers and their insurers – innocent bystanders – to pay for the free-riders’ costs by charging them higher prices.
If this is a victory for freedom, it will be for a fraudulent anything-goes notion of freedom that is amoral.
And if this is a victory for limited government, it will be so only in the false sense of a government rendered so impotent as to be incapable of protecting its own citizens from free-riders.”
From John Schwarz, “Individual mandate in Obama’s health care law: good for freedom, bad for free-riders”
Photo courtesy of Carolyn Kaster/AP
The reverberations could likely extend much further than just health care.
None of this has worked. The house-to-house shooting of women and children by a US soldier yesterday feels like a terrible, final symbol. But it follows many dramatic public examples of failure. There was the anger after the burning of the Korans two weeks ago. There was the discovery, last year, that Bin Laden had been living next to a Pakistan military academy. There was President Karzai’s statement last week supporting conservative social codes, targeted at women — on International Women’s Day.
Did our mission go wrong because Nato had too few troops; or because it sent too many? Could a different strategy have fixed the situation; or was it always impossible? The reason no longer matters. Whatever the explanation, things will not improve: Nato will not “solve the relationship with Pakistan”; it will never create “an effective, credible, legitimate Afghan government”; and in most parts of the country it has already lost “the hearts and minds” of the Afghan people.”
Rory Stewart, from “The West Must Get Out of Afghanistan This Year”
“The national conversation about affirmative action resembles a couple’s therapy session in a dysfunctional marriage: full of posturing, obfuscation, misdirection, outright lies—everything except an honest discussion of the relevant conflict. This is due in no small part to the blundering of the Supreme Court, which, like an incompetent therapist, has encouraged anger and distrust while making it harder to confront the root causes of disagreement.”
Richard Thompson Ford, “Bad Marriage: Why the Supreme Court should stay out of affirmative action.“ Ford responds to the Supreme Court’s announcement that they will address, for the second time in 10 years, the constitutionality of affirmative action in higher education in the case of Fisher v. Texas.
Photograph from NewsOne.com
The Supreme Court’s ruling in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum could have a major impact on corporate responsibility abroad, and the power of U.S. courts in applying universal jurisdiction.
-
Tweets
- Interesting read: Why, in business and human rights, active listening is the key first step: http://t.co/skMMhpx8PK #humanrights
- RT @McGillPoliSci: Tomorrow: "Is there a human right to health care?" Jonathan Wolff, UCL: 4:30 pm, room 100, NCD Hall, Law, McGill http ...
- In the wake of the #LIBOR scandal, @UN report has proposed a global ethics code for finance industry - read it online: http://t.co/ter8uHL8Aug 01, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Three numbers that explain why climate matters in a warming world: http://t.co/FS1Tk8We via @rollingstoneJul 30, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Human Rights in the Humanities - A great read featuring Elaine Scarry along with other #HumanRights scholars: http://t.co/mgpT4TXGJul 30, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Which countries will comply w/ a @UN council's resolution affirming access to the Internet as a human right? http://t.co/Z5KxJ6zHJul 11, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- The International Criminal Court is celebrating its 10th anniversary! Watch President Sang-Hyun Song’s address: http://t.co/M6kzgsekJul 09, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- .@latimes editorial today says reality of climate change is hitting home: http://t.co/B3IDL7rJJul 02, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- The Human Right to Health? Even after the #SCOTUS ruling, America still does not provide universal healthcare: http://t.co/PsuEOcC5Jun 29, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Key questions for how the Geneva meeting this Saturday will address the situation in #Syria: http://t.co/DzmbEZ5vJun 29, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- If you haven't seen it yet, watch Richard Thompson Ford discuss universal human rights with @SuzanneNossel: http://t.co/yxox8RruJun 29, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Before #SCOTUS's likely announcement tomorrow, an overview of past challenges to the health care law: http://t.co/XwaF24k1Jun 27, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- In the aftermath of Rio+20, Andrew Revkin points to the necessary role of ethics in addressing climate change: http://t.co/uXP4JnypJun 25, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Jonathan Wolff, in his most recent article, asks whether #universities can contribute to social mobility: http://t.co/Poevw3S0Jun 25, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- Frmr President Jimmy Carter urges the US to reclaim its role as the global champion of #HumanRights: http://t.co/fBLkDr1FJun 25, 12 from web Reply, Retweet, Favorite
- New York State Court Of Appeals rules that New York Human Rights Law doesn't apply to public schools http://t.co/hF08buhM #humanrights
- Human Rights Watch slams Israel migrant law, which allows migrants to be detained without charge for up to three years http://t.co/j05FUgg8
- Very interesting article: how climate change destroyed an ancient civilization (& what lessons we might take from it) http://t.co/FZCssXGq
- Why "emergency" politics has gotten out of control. Elaine Scarry wrote smartly on this in "Thinking in an Emergency" http://t.co/Mg5h2hyD
- The Justice Cascade by Kathryn Sikkink (great read!) wins 2012 RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights book award http://t.co/buHfdrRw
-
The Series
Now Available
Thinking In An Emergency - Elaine Scarry
Author of the landmark study The Body in Pain, Elaine Scarry offers a stunning and original analysis of the "claim of emergency."Can Intervention Work? - Rory Stewart and Gerald Knaus
Best-selling author Rory Stewart and political economist Gerald Knaus examine the impact of large-scale interventions, from Bosnia to Afghanistan.Universal Rights Down to Earth - Richard Thompson Ford
A path-blazing lesson on how to reconcile lofty human rights ambitions with political and cultural realities.The Human Right to Health - Jonathan Wolff
An esteemed philosopher provides a shrewd examination of the future of the human right to health.Climate Matters: Ethics in a Warming World - John Broome
A vital new moral perspective on the climate change debate.Forthcoming Authors
Sheila Jasanoff
Martha Minow
Philip Pettit
John Ruggie
-
Posts
- Jun 28, 12
The latest from the Amnesty International Global Ethics series examines climate change from a philosophical perspective and explains the moral duties required to combat the problem.
- Jun 28, 12
A broad-ranging, insightful analysis of the complex practical and ethical issues involved in global health.
- Jun 28, 12
Mr. Ford attempts to explain what is both gained and lost when describing a controversy as a matter of universal rights. When trying to change the lives of millions by enforcing what western nations believe are universal human
- Jun 28, 12
The book is most impressive in its characterization of the ideas and politics that motivate the loosely organized global human rights movement, which pursues many causes but has not offered a unified, coherent vision of a world governed by international law.
- Nov 04, 11
I devoured this brilliant Burkean tract at a sitting. Is it too much to hope that it will be read not just in Downing Street and the Foreign Office, but also the State Department and the White House?
- Nov 04, 11
Recently returned from Tripoli, Rory Stewart asks if the key to success is doing less, not more.
- Nov 04, 11
Stewart and Knaus grapple with the seminal question of modern international affairs: can intervention work? By this they mean: can the West, using military force, end wars, halt genocide, topple dictators, replace them with friendly governments, and build nations, without making things worse? Their answer is yes—but not as often as many of us think, and only with limited goals, and more humility and local knowledge than has typically been the case in recent decades.
- Nov 04, 11
Mr. Stewart has crystallized his new-found conservatism in a fine new book, coauthored with Gerald Knaus. The book, which is part of the Amnesty International Global Ethics Series, consists of a substantial introduction and two narrative essays, one by Mr. Stewart, the other by Mr. Knaus, who is the founding chairman of the European Stability Initiative, an Istanbul-based think tank.
- Oct 26, 11
So, does intervention work? As any Bosnian peasant may tell you, “maybe yes, maybe no.” It depends on the circumstances and requires modest ambitions. Muddle through with a sense of purpose, says Mr Knaus. Do what you can, where you can and no more, agrees Mr Stewart. In policy terms that sounds a bit like “yes” to Libya, “no” to Syria and so on.
- Sep 23, 11
In this exclusive Amnesty interview, author Rory Stewart discusses his new book, "Can Intervention Work?", which examines the impact of large-scale interventions from Bosnia to Afghanistan. The editor of Amnesty's Global Ethics Book Series, Anthony Appiah, also weighs in on Stewart's book and the series as a whole. The Global Ethics Book Series -- short books with a clear human rights focus -- is published in partnership with W.W. Norton.
- Sep 15, 11
In “Can Intervention Work?” Rory Stewart and Gerald Knaus provide a fresh and critically important perspective on foreign interventions. Stewart, a member of the British Parliament, is the author of the spellbinding “The Places in Between” and “The Prince of the Marshes,” and Knaus has taught with him at Harvard University. The book is divided into two sections. The first, in which Stewart walks us through the painful international experience in Afghanistan since 9/11, is in many ways the more lucid, raw and penetrating of the two. In the second section, Knaus examines the international approach in Bosnia.
- Aug 31, 11
Rory Stewart, a member of the British Parliament, examines the effects of political and military interventions. The author presents his thoughts on the intervention in Afghanistan and argues that a lack of attention to details, such as neglect of a region's language, culture, and political and social mores can lead to failure. Rory Stewart speaks at Politics & Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C.
- Aug 25, 11
Author Rory Stewart and political economic Gerald Knaus examine the impact of large-scale international interventions from Kosovo to Afghanistan in their new book, Can Intervention Work? Their bottom line: The international community needs to be much more humble about what it can accomplish in terms of state-building abroad. Here’s an excerpt from the introduction:
- Aug 25, 11
The most thorough examination of the subject that I've read in a while is a new book by Rory Stewart and Gerald Knaus called Can Intervention Work?, and the way they put it is this: It is not a question of what we ought to do but what we can: of understanding the limits of Western institutions in the 21st century and of giving credible account to the specific context of a particular intervention. They accept the basic notion that intervention is sometimes justified. But, they warn, there are inherent limits to what this sort of intervention can accomplish, and—as Stewart puts it in his half of the two-part book—"you don't have a moral obligation to do what you cannot do."
- Aug 25, 11
Rory Stewart, Member of Parliament and author of 'Can Intervention Work?'
- Jul 27, 11
British MP Rory Stewart walked across Afghanistan after 9/11, talking with citizens and warlords alike. Now, a decade later, he asks: Why are Western and coalition forces still fighting there? He shares lessons from past military interventions that worked -- Bosnia, for instance -- and shows that humility and local expertise are the keys to success.
- Jul 15, 11
In her latest book, Thinking in an Emergency, Harvard social theorist Elaine Scarry examines in concrete detail the many ways citizens and communities can prepare for emergency situations in order to preserve themselves and their autonomy. BR Web Editor David Johnson spoke to her recently about the Japanese earthquake-tsunami disaster, Swiss nuclear fallout shelters, and how not to respond to emergencies.
- Jun 24, 11
Elaine Scarry, author of Thinking in an Emergency, discusses her new book about how only a powerful few in the world are in charge if disaster strikes - and what everybody else can do about it.
- Apr 29, 11
Short but densely populated with fascinating material that has furnished me with a long list of further reading to pursue, Thinking in an Emergency is a mind-blowing canter around some difficult topics - conflict, democracy and nuclear war. It is, moreover, a highly timely work in light of recent spontaneous uprisings against oppressive regimes - and, as Scarry points out, we in the West are perhaps not as free as we might think. I will give this book the ultimate accolade - I will buy copies as gifts for others.
- Mar 15, 11
Thinking in an Emergency is a reminder of what in the nuclear age we sometimes seem to have forgotten: that we have both the responsibility and the ability to protect one another, both within the boundaries of our own nations and across national boundaries.
-
Sign Up
- Enter your email address and we'll let you know when each new book in the series is released.
