| ID | 115198 |
| Title Proper | Human rights, freedom, and political authority |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Valentini, Laura |
| Publication | 2012. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | In this article, I sketch a Kant-inspired liberal account of human rights: the freedom-centred view. This account conceptualizes human rights as entitlements that any political authority-any state in the first instance-must secure to qualify as a guarantor of its subjects' innate right to freedom. On this picture, when a state (or state-like institution) protects human rights, it reasonably qualifies as a moral agent to be treated with respect. By contrast, when a state (or state-like institution) fails to protect human rights, it loses its moral status and becomes liable to both internal and external interference. I argue that this account not only steers a middle course between so-called natural-law and political approaches to human rights but also satisfies three important theoretical desiderata-explanatory power, functional specificity, and critical capacity. |
| `In' analytical Note | Political Theory Vol. 40, No.5; Oct 2012: p.573-601 |
| Journal Source | Political Theory Vol. 40, No.5; Oct 2012: p.573-601 |
| Key Words | Human Rights ; Political Authority ; Freedom ; Global Justice ; International Intervention |