F1417 Globalization, Ethics, Welfare and Human Rights (Global Challenges core)

Introduction

Nearly half of the world’s population survives on less than two dollars a day. A much smaller portion of the world’s population – living primarily in Europe, North America, and Japan – is extraordinarily rich in historical terms. What explains this extraordinary discrepancy in wealth and well being? What are the ethical and legal implications of global wealth and poverty? What have been the strategies, successes, and failures over the past half century of efforts on the part of poor countries, aided by rich ones, to develop their economies and societies in order to reduce poverty? What are the probable future challenges of ethics and global development?

In this course students will analyze some of the ethical and legal issues surrounding global poverty. Students will consider the extent and causes of global poverty, consider philosophical and legal sources of our obligation to the poor, and examine international efforts to promote poverty reduction and economic development.

The class will cover selections on international legitimacy, international democracy, sovereignty, just war, humanitarian intervention, and responsibility, along with relevant areas of law including international criminal law, human rights law, and health law.

Learning outcomes of the course

This course will give students a background in legal theory as applied to the global context and provide students an opportunity to acquire a significant knowledge on some of the most pressing issues facing the world today.

At the end of the course students should have:

- a genuine understanding of central ethical and legal debates on the positive and negatives aspects of globalization with reference to welfare, health and environment protection;
- developed insight into the problem of global justice and the protection of human rights and the different ways to deal with this topics;
- an improved ability to conduct research on international law in the key sectors of human rights, environment, health;
- the skill to write an essay on the most challenging issues concerning globalization;
- a deep comprehension of the concepts of humanitarian intervention and responsibility to protect and of the functioning of the UN Security Council.

The course also adds to students development of legal and ethical skills:
- through rigorous engagement with legal and philosophical debates, arguments and themes on globalization;
- through sustained encouragement to articulate sound ideas and arguments in class and through the draft of a written essay, the elaboration of a report within a working group and a moot court competition.

Syllabus

Specific issues tackled by this course are:

Track 1: Globalization, Welfare and Public Health

The general objective of this track is to promote the students’ understanding of the contemporary health situation in the world; its determinants from a great variety of perspectives and how it changes over time. It also aims at increasing the understanding of globalization and the work and influence of significant international actors concerning global health. Finally, it aims at introducing important ethical themes related to global health.

The main key arguments which will be dealt in track 1 are:

(a) Global Health, history and the role of WHO; (b) Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights; (c) The impact of climate change on public health; (d) Health systems, services and financing in transition; (e) Health in emergencies, among refugees and migrants; (f) Access to essential drugs for HIV-living persons in developing countries: Legal Issues; (g) Ethics of Clinical Trials in Developing Countries; (h) Globalization and the spread of emerging infectious diseases.

Track 2: Judicial Globalization and Human Rights

In the last decade the mechanisms of protection of human rights at international and at regional level have flourished, although some criticism has been raised by some scholars on the risk of overlapping and fragmentation. Track 2 will provide an overview of the international protection of human rights with a focus on economic and social rights which have been mostly affected by globalization and on the process of fragmentation of international law through the diffusion of specialized courts on human rights and crimes against humanity.

The main key arguments which will be dealt in track 2 are:

(a) The protection of human rights between universalism and regionalism; (b) The UN protection mechanism; b1. UN treaty bodies; b2. The UN Human Rights Council; b3. The UN Millennium Development Goals (c) Regional protection of human rights: c1. Europe (Council of Europe, European Union, OSCE); c2. Latin America (Organization of American States); c3. Africa (The African Union), c4 Asia (recent developments); (d) International Criminal Law (d1) The International Criminal Court; (d2) The Ad Hoc Tribunals on the crimes committed in Ruanda and Former Yugoslavia; (d3) The diffusion of the hybrid tribunals; (e) Human Rights and Right to Development.

Track 3: Globalization, Responsibility to Protect and the erosion of domestic jurisdiction

One of the main consequences of globalization is the progressive erosion of the classic concept of international law of “non interference in internal affairs”, which determined an enlarged range of situations in which the use of force is admitted. This track will analyze the legitimacy of humanitarian interventions and use of force to protect and export democracy under a legal and ethical profile.

The main key arguments which will be dealt in track 3 are: (a) The UN Security Council and the use of force in case of gross violation of human rights; (b) The theory of humanitarian intervention and the Kosovo crisis of 1999; (c) Exporting Democracy and Fight to Terrorism after 11/09, the cases of Afghanistan and Iraq; (d) the shift from the concept of humanitarian intervention to the Responsibility to Protect (R2P); (e) the Libyan crisis and the implementation of R2P; (f) the military intervention in Mali; (g) the Syrian crisis and the failure of R2P.

Evaluation

Assignment Overview:

Here are some of the course assignments and activities:

Oral Lectures: Most of the course content is delivered through oral presentations and projection of slides. Each lesson is divided in a theoretical and a practical part. After an analysis of the position of the most eminent scholars on the topic dealt, of the relevant ethical issues and of the international legislation, case studies will be presented (i.e. the situation in Syria, the new strategy against terrorism, climate change and the policies adopted by a specific country).

Video Lectures: some video lectures/documentaries are foreseen. Each video runs 10-12 minutes;

Discussion forums: The class thrives on discussion. Multiple discussion forums are designed to develop out of the lectures. Students will have the ability to articulate their own views on globalization as well as learn from their fellow students from around the world.

Organization of Conferences/Seminars: The teacher will organize round tables/workshops/seminars during his/her semester involving his/her colleagues. Selected students will have the possibility to participate in this activity through the presentation of short communications (5’) during the workshop.

Assessment of student work:

Midterm Written Exam 20%
Final Written and Oral Exam 40%
Moot Court Competition 20%
Working Group 20%

Definitions of student work:
a) The Midterm Exam
This will be an in-class exam consisting of 1 essay question and 10 short answer keyword identification questions based on key terms . Overall the exam will test students’ knowledge of what has been taught in lectures throughout the first part of the quarter. The students will be given three potential essay questions in advance; of these, one will be selected for the actual midterm. This exam is worth 20% of the final grade, i.e. 10% for the essay and 10% for the key term identifications.
b) The final exam
This will be a 2 hour exam consisting of 2 essay questions and 10 identifications. It will test students’ knowledge of what has been taught in lectures throughout the semester. 5 questions will be given in advance, 3 will be selected for the final exam, and, of these, students will have to choose 2 to answer. There will also be 10 identification questions requiring short 3 - 5 sentence responses. This exam is worth 40% of the final grade.
c) The Moot Court Competition
The students will have to simulate a judicial case of human rights’ violation before an international court (i.e. African Court on Human Rights, Inter-American Court on Human Rights). They will be divided in two groups: the claimants (i.e. indigenous population whose right to land has been damaged by an international corporation), the defendant (the State).
The professor of the course and some of his/her colleagues will be the judges and will adopt a final statement on the merits of the case. The claimants and the defendants will then receive a vote by the judges that will evaluate their work. This exercise will provide 20% of the overall evaluation.
d) Working Group
The research work which will contribute 20% towards the final grade and consists of two different gradable components. The focus of the research will be to prepare a report on a specific issue dealt through the semester with a particular focus on case and country studies.
The aim is also to help students see how they can work in a multicultural team and bring together insights from lectures and already existing academic writings with primary research conducted by them on a topic they are especially interested in. The final reports drafted by each group will be presented orally at the end of the semester before the class.

Readings

SELECTED READINGS

i) On the Foundations of Globalization

BYRNES A., HAYASHI M., MICHAELSEN C., (2013), INTERNATIONAL LAW IN THE NEW AGE OF GLOBALIZATION, LEIDEN: MARTINUS NIJHOFF;

FRIEDMAN, T.L., (1999), THE LEXUS AND THE OLIVE TREE: UNDERSTANDING GLOBALIZATION, CAIRO: INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHERS;

RAWLS J., (2001), THE LAW OF PEOPLES, CAMBRIDGE USA: HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS;

RODRIK, D. (2011), DEMOCRACY AND THE FUTURE OF WORLD ECONOMY. THE GLOBALIZATION PARADOX, NEW YORK: W.W. NORTON & COMPANY INC.;

SCHEUERMAN, W. E., (2008), FRANKFURT SCHOOL PERSPECTIVES ON GLOBALIZATION, DEMOCRACY, AND THE LAW, ABINGDON: ROUTLEDGE;

SINGER P., (2004) ONE WORLD: THE ETHICS OF GLOBALIZATION, YALE: YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS;

SKLAIR L., (2002), GLOBALIZATION, CAPITALISM AND ITS ALTERNATIVES, OXFORD: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS;

SMITH M. S., (2006), BEYOND THE ‘AFRICAN TRAGEDY’. DISCOURSES ON DEVELOPMENT AND THE GLOBAL ECONOMY, LONDON: ASHGATE;

SPARKE, M. (2013). INTRODUCING GLOBALIZATION: TIES, TENSIONS AND UNEVEN INTEGRATION. OXFORD, UK: WILEY-BLACKWELL;

SUR. S, (1997), “THE STATE BETWEEN FRAGMENTATION AND GLOBALIZATION”, EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, P. 421-434;

TE VELDE, D.W. (2008), THE GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, LONDON: OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE.

ii) On Globalization, Welfare and Public Health

AGINAM, O., (2006), “GLOBALIZATION OF HEALTH INSECURITY: THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION AND THE NEW INTERNATIONAL HEALTH REGULATIONS”, MEDICAL LAW, P. 663-672;

BRAVEMAN P., GRUSKIN S., (2003), “POVERTY, EQUITY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND HEALTH”, BULLETTIN OF THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, P. 539-545;

CHAPMAN, A.R., (2009), “GLOBALIZATION, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH”, BIOETHICS, P. 97-111;

COCKERHAM, J.P., COCKERHAM, W.C., (2010), HEALTH & GLOBALIZATION, CAMBRIDGE: POLITY PRESS;

FIDLER, D. P., (1996), “GLOBALIZATION, INTERNATIONAL LAW, AND EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES”, EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES JOURNAL, P. 77-84;

GÒMEZ, J., (2013), “EMERGENCE OF MULTILATERAL PROTO-INSTITUTIONS IN GLOBAL HEALTH AND NEW APPROACHES TO GOVERNANCE: ANALYSIS USING PATH DEPENDENCY AND INSTITUTIONAL THEORY”, GLOBALIZATION AND HEALTH, P. 18-25;

JORI, M., ET AL., (2012), “GLOBAL HEALTH AND NATIONAL BORDERS: THE ETHICS OF FOREIGN AID IN A TIME OF FINANCIAL CRISIS”, GLOBALIZATION AND HEALTH, P. 8-19;

MACLIN, R., (2004), DOUBLE STANDARD IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, CAMBRIDGE: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS;

PARKER, M., (2012), “FORMS OF BENEFIT SHARING IN GLOBAL HEALTH RESEARCH UNDERTAKEN IN RESOURCE POOR SETTINGS: A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF STAKEHOLDERS’ VIEWS IN KENYA”, PHILOSOPHY, ETHICS, AND HUMANITIES IN MEDICINE, P. 7-13;

PARKER, M., (2012), “ETHICS IN PRACTICE: THE STATE OF THE DEBATE ON PROMOTING THE SOCIAL VALUE OF GLOBAL HEALTH RESEARCH IN RESOURCE POOR SETTINGS PARTICULARLY AFRICA”, MEDICAL ETHICS, P. 22-29;

PAVONE, I.R., (2009), “HIV/AIDS AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW”, LAW ASIA JOURNAL, P. 96-111;

PAVONE I.R. (2012), “MEDICAL RESEARCH IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND HUMAN RIGHTS”, IN HUMAN MEDICAL RESEARCH: ETHICAL, LEGAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS, (SCHILMANN J.,EDS.), BERLIN: SPRINGER VERLAG, 2012, P. 65-87;

SELGELID, M.J., (2008), “ETHICS, TUBERCULOSIS AND GLOBALIZATION”, PUBLIC HEALTH ETHICS, P. 10-20;

WERREN, A. E., (2013), “GLOBAL HEALTH INITIATIVE INVESTMENTS AND HEALTH SYSTEMS STRENGTHENING: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL FUND INVESTMENTS”, GLOBALIZATION AND HEALTH, P. 30-39.

iii) On Judicial Globalization and Human Rights

ALSTON P., ROBINSON, M., (2005), HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEVELOPMENT: TOWARDS MUTUAL REINFORCEMENT, OXFORD: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS;

ALSTON P., GOODMAN R., STEINER H., (2007), INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS IN CONTEXT: LAW, POLITICS, MORALS, OXFORD: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS;

ALSTON P., MEGRET, F., (2008), THE UNITED NATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS: A CRITICAL APPRAISAL, OXFORD: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS;

ALSTON P., GOODMAN R., (2012), INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS, OXFORD: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS;

BRYSK, A. (ED.) (2013), THE POLITICS OF THE GLOBALIZATION OF LAW. GETTING FROM RIGHTS TO JUSTICE, NEW YORK: ROUTLEDGE;

DONNELLY, J., (1982), “HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMAN DIGNITY: AN ANALYTIC CRITIQUE OF NON-WESTERN CONCEPTIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS”, AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEW 76, P. 303-316;

GOODMAN R., (2008), “INCOMPLETE INTERNALIZATION AND COMPLIANCE WITH HUMAN RIGHTS LAW”, EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, P. 443-446;

GORDON N., (2004), FROM THE MARGINS OF GLOBALIZATION: CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN RIGHTS, LANHAM, MARYLAND: LEXINGTON BOOKS;

LANGFORD M. ET AL. (EDS.), (2012), GLOBAL JUSTICE, STATE DUTIES: THE EXTRA-TERRITORIAL SCOPE OF ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS IN INTERNATIONAL LAW, CAMBRIDGE: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS;

MONSHIMOURI M. ET AL. (EDS.), (2003), CONSTRUCTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION, NEW YORK: M.E. SHARPE, INC;

NARULA, S., (2012), “RECLAIMING THE RIGHT TO FOOD AS A NORMATIVE RESPONSE TO THE GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS”, YALE HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEVELOPMENT LAW JOURNAL, P. 403-417;

ROMANO, C.P.R., (1999), “THE PROLIFERATION OF INTERNATIONAL JUDICIAL BODIES: THE PIECES OF THE PUZZLE”, INTERNATIONAL LAW AND POLITICS, P. 709-751;

SHELTON, D., (2002), “PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD”, INTERNATIONAL & COMPARATIVE LAW REVIEW, P. 273-322;

SLAUGHTER, A.M., (2000), “JUDICIAL GLOBALIZATION”, VIRGINIA JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, P. 1103-1124;

iv) On Globalization, Humanitarian Intervention and the Erosion of Domestic Jurisdiction

ALSTON P., MAC DONALD E., (2008), HUMAN RIGHTS, INTERVENTION AND THE USE OF FORCE, OXFORD: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS;

ALSTON P, (2012), “THE UNITED NATIONS: NO HOPE FOR REFORM?”, IN REALIZING UTOPIA: THE FUTURE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW (ANTONIO CASSESE ED.), OXFORD: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS;

BELLAMY, A.J., (2010), THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT AND INTERNATIONAL LAW, LEIDEN: MARTINUS NIJHOFF PUBLISHERS;

FRANCIONI F., BAKKER, C., (2013), “RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT, HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION AND HUMAN RIGHTS: LESSONS FROM LIBYA TO MALI”, THE TRANSLANTIC RELATIONS AND THE FUTURE OF GLOBAL GOVERNANCE, WORKING PAPER 15, APRIL 2013;

GOODMAN R., (2009), “CONTROLLING THE RECOURSE TO WAR BY MODIFYING JUS IN BELLO”, YEARBOOK OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW, P. 53-84;

HOFFMANN J., NOLLKAEMPER A., 2012, RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT. FROM PRINCIPLE TO PRACTICE, AMSTERDAM: PALLAS PUBLICATIONS AND AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY PRESS, P. 247-270;

HOLZGREFE, J.L., KEOHANE, R.O., (2004), HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION: ETHICAL, LEGAL AND POLITICAL DILEMMAS, CAMBRIDGE: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS;

KAHLER M., (2006), TERRITORIALITY AND CONFLICT IN AN ERA OF GLOBALIZATION, CAMBRIDGE: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS;

MALONE D.M., (2004), THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL FROM THE COLD WAR TO THE 21ST CENTURY, BOULDER: LYNNE RIENNER PUBLISHERS;

MEGGLE, G., (2004), ETHICS OF HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION, BERLIN: ONTOS VERLAG;

RONZITTI, N., (2011), “NATO INTERVENTION IN LIBYA: A GENUINE ACTION TO PROTECT A CIVILIAN POPULATION IN MORTAL DANGER OR AN INTERVENTION AIMED AT REGIME CHANGE?”, THE ITALIAN YEARBOOK OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, P. 3-21;

VIERUCCI, L. (2011), “THE NO-FLY ZONE OVER LIBYA: ENFORCEMENT ISSUES”, THE ITALIAN YEARBOOK OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, P. 21-44.

WELSH, J., (2011), “CIVILIAN PROTECTION IN LIBYA: PUTTING COERCION AND CONTROVERSY BACK INTO RTOP”, ETHICS & INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, VOL. 25, NO. 3 (SEPTEMBER), P. 255-262.

ZIFCAK S., (2012), “THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT AFTER LIBYA AND SYRIA”, MELBOURNE JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, P. 1-35.

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