HR100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Liberal Democracy
27 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Friday, January 12th, 2018
HR 100
Dr. Robinson
Lecture 3: Politics and Power
●Are some kinds of power more consistent with HR than others?
○If it is our will HR will be respected and that comes with power
○Influence: Generally beneficial
○Coercion: Complicated
○Authority: Complicated
■Legal: If the process is sufficiently similar to liberal democracy, yes
■Traditional: Often problematic
■Charismatic: Often problematic
●DeLaet says that to claim or deny human rights is to engage in politics? What does that
imply?
○Always about making a case. Appealing to the interests of the masses
○Advanced through coalitions
Politics
●Politics takes place in the polis
○Always related to community
○Process by which groups of people make collective decisions
●Politics (as distinct from Government)
○Government vs. politics
○Process of building supportive coalitions
●What do these “Other Views of Politics” suggest about human rights as being “inherently
political?”
○De Jouvenel: “We should regard as ‘political’ every systematic effort, performed
at any place in social field, to move other men in pursuit of some design cherished
by the mover”
○J.D.B. Miller: Politics “is about disagreement and conflict”
●Coalitions
○The joining of forces by two or more parties during a conflict or interest with
other parties
○3 types of coalitions
■Small scale: base on personal relationships; Large scale: governments,
police officers
■Electoral coalitions
■Formal alliance with organizations, e.g. the UN
Document Summary
If it is our will hr will be respected and that comes with power. Legal: if the process is sufficiently similar to liberal democracy, yes. Process by which groups of people make collective decisions. What do these other views of politics suggest about human rights as being inherently political? . De jouvenel: we should regard as political" every systematic effort, performed at any place in social field, to move other men in pursuit of some design cherished by the mover . The joining of forces by two or more parties during a conflict or interest with other parties. Small scale: base on personal relationships; large scale: governments, police officers. Formal alliance with organizations, e. g. the un. Form of power not because of influence or coercion but respects the source of command. Authority based on deference to an individual"s knowledge or social position. Legal authority (fyi, aka rational/ bureaucratic authority) Influence: ability to persuade others to do you will.
