On Reconciling Irreconcilables: Neo-liberal Globalisation and Human Rights

Abstract

This article examines the tensions between the presently dominant form of globalisation, which will be referred to as neo-liberal globalisation, and the protection of human rights. The argument developed and defended here, in essence, is that one cannot be committed to the protection of fundamental human rights and at the same time acquiescent in the dominant model of globalisation. Consequently, it is argued that advocates for human rights, be they grassroots campaigners, academics or members of the global human rights officialdom, must take a strong stance against prevailing orthodoxies in order to genuinely advance and entrench a culture of human rights protection. A large element of the argument presented here will be that conventional discourse on human rights and globalisation has misunderstood the nature of globalisation. In contrast to the standard narrative in this field, I will posit my own understanding of globalisation, that is neo-liberal globalisation, and then argue that this model is inimical, both in theory and practice, to the protection of human rights. Having done this, I will then go on to argue that all human rights advocates are faced with a choice (not an easy choice, but a necessary one) between acquiescence in a process which is inherently inimical to the protection of human rights, or utilising human rights to challenge and overcome the dominant model of globalisation.