General
Human Rights, State Sovereignty, and International Law: An Interview With Richard Falk (2018). This article points out some of the aspirational elements of human rights law but also identifies its limitations and how it can be used as a ruse for dominance and intervention.
Yes
Deprioritizing Human Rights Will Not Protect Territorial Sovereignty. This article challenges that claim that protecting human rights leads to more military intervention.
Sovereignty Reshuffled? A New Global Order and the Future of Human Rights. This article argues that human rights are considered to be more important than sovereignty.
The Sovereignty of Human Rights. This article argues that prioritizing human rights makes sovereignty legitimate.
State Sovereignty and International Human Rights. This article argues that there is an emerging international norm in favor of sovereignty over human rights.
Do human rights limit state sovereignty? This article argues that protecting human rights strengthens state sovereignty.
Why Territorial Sovereignty Should Be Flexible. This article argues that borders should be considered flexible when necessary.
No
International Law and the Invasion of the Ukraine. This article argues the weakening of sovereignty in order to protect human rights created the justification for Russia to invade the Ukraine.
Sovereignty vs. Human Rights or Sovereignty and Human Rights? What, post-cold war, are the implications of so-called humanitarian interventions for international law, the nation state and peoples’ rights? Is this a cover for imperialism or, in the era of globalisation, an essential widening of protection for human rights? The provisions of the UN Charter and related instruments are examined, together with the arguments in support of such interventions. That state sovereignty protects human rights by reducing the incidence of war and promoting self-determination and that military intervention can result in atrocities are often overlooked. Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia and the first Gulf war are among the examples discussed.
Democracy and sovereignty vs international human rights: reconciling the irreconcilable?, Developing friendly relations among nations founded on the ‘principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples’ and ‘sovereign equality of all its Members’ and encouraging ‘respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms’ are two purposes of the United Nations. Human rights are often understood to be ‘universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated’, but with hundreds of different peoples in the world how can that be? Democracy is another ‘universally recognised ideal’ and ‘core value’ usually understood to mean that a sovereign people through a democratic-majority-rule system of governance decide the rules of law by which they live.
Do Human Rights Challenge State Sovereignty? This article argues that protecting human rights depends on the will of states and that undermining their sovereignty threatens human rights