Rethinking the historical basis for the protection of human rights: The role of universal norms, state power, and social struggles

2022-8
Zeyrek, Bilge Ece
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The continuation of human rights crises at a time when human rights have become a common value in both international and local politics is a puzzle that needs to be questioned. This thesis searches for an answer to this question by critically overviewing the history of human rights, in which the idea and practice of universal human rights have developed by considering universal norms, state power, and social struggles. The 18th century, the post-1945 period, and the post-Cold War period are examined with the conceptual framework developed by Hannah Arendt and Jacques Ranciere to argue that the modern state plays a critical role in protecting human rights, but it is also a potential violator. The state's position in its dual role is determined by the social struggles of people who have become the subjects of rights through the process of political subjectivation. Thus, the concept of human rights is a field of struggle, and its subjects and content are constantly redefined by social struggles.
Human Rights, History of human rights, Human rights norms, Human rights and state, Human rights and social struggles
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/98656
Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis

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Citation Formats
B. E. Zeyrek, “Rethinking the historical basis for the protection of human rights: The role of universal norms, state power, and social struggles,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2022.
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