Introducing Principled Engagement
Morten B. Pedersen & David Kinley (eds), PRINCIPLED ENGAGEMENT: NEGOTIATING HUMAN RIGHTS IN REPRESSIVE STATES, Ashgate, Forthcoming
15 Pages Posted: 27 Mar 2013
Date Written: March 26, 2013
Abstract
Debates over how to promote human rights in grossly repressive states have tended to pit those seeking to enforce international norms through punitive sanctions, mainly focusing on political freedoms, against others favouring non-interventionist approaches that seek to facilitate longer-term internally-driven change by opening such countries up through trade, investment and economic development. Our concept of Principled Engagement delineates a third way, which emphasises engagement with repressive rulers and their agents, as well as broader groups in society, to alleviate concrete human rights violations and improve the structural framework for human rights protection. This approach relies on non-coercive pressure and support rather than punishment, yet works pro-actively to identify the shortcomings of existing systems, promote better policies and practices and strengthen domestic forces for change. In this introductory chapter, we seek to further flesh out what we mean by Principled Engagement by comparing it to the alternatives.
Keywords: Human rights, international statecraft, principled engagement
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