Foucault's Concept of Power and the Global Discourse of Human Rights

Abstract

This article carries out a Foucauldian analysis of the global discourse of human rights. In the spirit of Foucault's genealogy it identifies a historical discontinuity in the development of human rights between the Cold War period, when human rights were a heavily contested concept, and the late modern world in which human rights are becoming a form of global standard whose validity is less and less questioned. Using Foucault's understanding of the way power is exercised within discursive structures and knowledge/power configurations, the article argues that in the late modern world human rights constitute a global norm with reference to which agents are evaluated and increasingly evaluate themselves. Power may be exercised over those forms of agency that do not conform to this norm by other agents, and at the same time, we witness more and more situations in which there is no such coercion and yet agents find it necessary to alter their behaviour and declare their adherence to human rights. The article also seeks to extend Foucault's framework in order to explain the emergence of the global human rights discourse. It thereby complements a Foucauldian analysis with a political economy approach which, it is argued, helps us enhance the Foucauldian framework which suffers from the separation of discourses and politics from the economy.

Notes

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4. M. Foucault, Anthologie (Paris: Gallimard, 2004), p. 409; my translation.

 6. Foucault, op. cit., p. 393; my translation.

2. M. Poster, Foucault, Marxism and History: Mode of Production versus Mode of Information (Oxford: Polity, 1984), p. 66.

3. Ibid., p. 64.

5. B. Smart, Foucault, Marxism and Critique (London: Routledge, 1983), pp. 75–76.

 7. Ibid., p. 708; my translation.

 8. Poster, op. cit., p. 81.

 9. Foucault, op. cit., p. 654; my translation.

10. Ibid., p. 655; my translation.

11. Ibid., p. 663; my translation.

12. M. Foucault, Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972–1977 (Brighton: Harvester Press, 1980), p. 98.

13. Poster, op. cit., p. 78; emphasis added.

15. Foucault, Anthologie, op. cit., pp. 709, 713–714; my translation.

14. Smart, op. cit., p. 86.

16. T. Evans, The Politics of Human Rights: A Global Perspective (London: Pluto Press, 2001), p. 23.

17. A. Rosas and J. Helgensen, “Introduction”, in A. Rosas and J. Helgensen (eds.), Human Rights in a Changing East–West Perspective (London: Pinter, 1990), p. 1; P. Hunt, Reclaiming Social Rights: International and Comparative Perspectives (Aldershot: Dartmouth, 1996), p. 7.

18. M. Freeman, Human Rights: An Interdisciplinary Approach (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2002), p. 47.

19. K. Feste, Expanding the Frontiers: Superpower Intervention in the Cold War (New York: Praeger, 1992), p. 1.

20. See F.K. Abiew, The Evolution of the Doctrine and Practice of Humanitarian Intervention (London: Kluwer, 1999); T. Franck and M. Rodley, “After Bangladesh: The Law of Humanitarian Intervention by Military Force”, American Journal of International Law, Vol. 67 (April 1973), pp. 275–305.

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22. W. Clinton, “Remarks in Honour of Human Rights Day”, Museum of Jewish Heritage, New York, 9 December 1997, US Department of State, available: <http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/971209_clinton_humrts.html>. See also idem, “Remarks at Human Rights Day Presentation of Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award”, 10 December 1998, US Department of State, available: <http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/981210_whps_dayhr.html> (all URLs accessed 5 July 2009).

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25. D. Chandler, From Kosovo to Kabul: Human Rights and International Intervention (London: Pluto Press, 2002), p. 8.

26. Quoted in B. Crossette, “UN Leader to Call for Changes in Peace-keeping”, New York Times (3 January 1995), p. A3.

27. L. Gordenker and T. Weiss, “Pluralizing Global Governance: Analytical Approaches and Dimensions”, in T. Weiss and L. Gordenker (eds.), NGOs, the UN, and Global Governance (London: Lynne Rienner, 1996), p. 30.

28. The Economist, “The Conscience of Mankind”, in a Special Survey entitled “Survey of Human Rights Law” (5 December 1998), p. 3; see also idem, “The Power of Publicity”, in ibid., p. 13.

29. T. Risse, S. Ropp and K. Sikkink, “The Socialization of International Human Rights Norms into Domestic Practices: Introduction”, in T. Risse, S. Ropp and K. Sikkink (eds.), The Power of Human Rights: International Norms and Domestic Change (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), p. 8.

30. Evans, op. cit., p. 18.

31. J. Donnelly, “Human Rights, Democracy and Development”, Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 21, No. 3 (1999), p. 608.

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35. Owing to constraints of space I do not discuss the War on Terror. However, in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq human rights rhetoric was present right from the start. Even the attacks of 9/11 were referred to as attacks on human rights. George W. Bush, for example, stated that the “tragedies of September 11 served as a grievous reminder that the enemies of freedom do not respect or value individual human rights. Their brutal attacks were an attack on these very rights”, George W. Bush, “President Proclaims Human Rights Day & Bill of Rights Week”, The White House Office of the Press Secretary (9 December 2001), available: <http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/12/20011209.html> (accessed 5 July 2009).

36. Quoted in C. Greenwood, “Is there a Right of Humanitarian Intervention?”, The World Today, No. 49 (February 1993), p. 37.

37. D. Wippman, “Enforcing the Peace: ECOWAS and the Liberian Civil War”, in L. Damrosch (ed.), Enforcing Restraint (New York: Council on Foreign Relations, 1993), p. 159.

38. W. Sandholtz, “Humanitarian Intervention: Global Enforcement of Human Rights?”, in A. Brysk (ed.), Globalization and Human Rights (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2002), p. 214.

39. The Guardian, “Nigeria's Intervention Puzzles West Africans” (28 June 1997), p. 17.

40. The Independent, “Freetown in Flames as Rebels Retreat” (13 January 1999), p. 11.

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43. The Economist, “Sweatshop Wars” (25 February 1999), p. 4.

44. International Labour Organization, “Overview of Global Developments and Office Activities Concerning Codes of Conduct, Social Labeling and other Private Sector Initiatives Addressing Labour Issues”, ILO doc. GB.273/WP/SDL/1.

45. OECD, OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (Paris: OECD, 2008), pp. 14, 39.

46. Quoted in J. Bennett, “Multinational Corporations, Social Responsibility and Conflict”, Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 55, No. 2 (2002), pp. 401–402.

47. A. Roddick, Business as Usual (Wellingborough: Thorsons, 2000), p. 176.

48. P. Fireman, “Business Must Speak up for Human Rights”, Asian Wall Street Journal (19 August 1999), available: <http://208.55.16.210/Fireman.htm> (accessed 5 July 2009).

49. African Union, “Grand Bay Declaration and Plan of Action”, 12 April 1999, available: <http://www.achpr.org/english/declarations/declaration_grand_bay_en.html> (accessed 5 July 2009).

50. Ibid.

51. A. Essy, “Address Delivered by Amara Essy, Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, Second Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government”, Maputo, 10 July 2003, available: <http://www.africa-union.org/latest%20news/Open%20Speech%20of%20the%20Interim%20Chairperson.pdf> (accessed 5 July 2009).

52. ASEAN “Joint Communiqué: The 26th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting”, Singapore 1993, available: <http://202.154.12.3/old/general/ads1993/26amm_93.htm> (accessed 5 July 2009).

53. D. Lecourt, Marxism and Epistemology: Bachelard, Canguilhem and Foucault (London: New Left Books, 1975), p. 207; see also N. Poulantzas, State, Power, Socialism (London: New Left Books, 1978).

54. J. Larrain, Marxism and Ideology (London: Macmillan, 1983); J. Maclean, “Belief Systems and Ideology in International Relations: A Critical Approach”, in R. Little and S. Smith (eds.), Belief Systems and International Relations (Oxford: Blackwell, 1988); P. Allman, Critical Education against Global Capitalism: Karl Marx and Revolutionary Critical Education (London: Bergin & Garvey, 2001).

55. Larrain, op. cit., p. 4.

56. Ibid., p. 23.

57. Maclean, op. cit., p. 309.

58. Allman, op. cit., p. 47.

59. G. Lukács, History and Class Consciousness (London: Merlin Press, 1971).

60. Larrain, op. cit., p. 28.

61. B. Hindness and P. Hirst, Pre-capitalist Modes of Production (London: Routledge, 1975), p. 223.

62. R. Brenner, Merchants and Revolution: Commercial Change, Political Conflict and London's Overseas Traders, 1550–1653 (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993).

63. P. Anderson, Passages from Antiquity to Feudalism (London: Verso, 1996), p. 148.

65. Larrain, op. cit., p. 38.

64. R. Tawney, Religion and the Rise of Capitalism (London: Penguin, 1990), pp. 35–36.

66. M. Barrett, “Ideology, Politics, Hegemony: From Gramsci to Laclau and Mouffe”, in S. Žižek (ed.), Mapping Ideology (London: Verso, 1994), p. 253.

72. M. Rupert, Ideologies of Globalization: Contending Visions of a New World Order (London: Routledge, 2000), p. 3.

67. E.M. Wood, The Origins of Capitalism: A Longer View (London: Verso, 2002), p. 2.

68. K. Marx, Capital, Vol. 1 (London: Penguin, 1976), p. 270.

69. E.M. Wood, Democracy against Capitalism: Renewing Historical Materialism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp. 28–29.

70. Marx, op. cit., pp. 270–271.

71. I. Manokha, The Political Economy of Human Rights Enforcement (London: Palgrave, 2008), pp. 86–93.

73. Wood, Democracy against Capitalism, op. cit., p. 224.

74. A. Gramsci, Antonio Gramsci: Selections from Prison Notebooks (eds. Q. Hoare and G. Nowell Smith) (London: Lawrence & Wishart, 1971), p. 57.

75. Idem, The Modern Prince and Other Writings (New York: Lawrence & Wishart, 1957), p. 66.

76. Ibid., p. 67.

77. Ibid., p. 5.

78. For more on this see Manokha, The Political Economy of Human Rights Enforcement, op. cit.; idem, “Al-Qaeda Terrorism and Global Poverty: New Social Banditry”, Journal of Global Ethics, Vol. 4, No. 2 (2008), pp. 95–105.

79. S. Gill, “Globalization, Market Civilization, and Disciplinary Neoliberalism”, Millennium, Vol. 24, No. 3 (1995), pp. 400–401.

80. R. Cox, “Civil Society at the Turn of the Millennium: Prospects for an Alternative World Order”, Review of International Studies, Vol. 25, No. 1 (1999), p. 12.

81. Gill, op. cit., p. 412.

82. See Cox, op cit.; see also U. Beck, The Reinvention of Politics: Rethinking Modernity in the Global Social Order (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1997).

83. Gramsci, Antonio Gramsci, op. cit., p. 161.

84. Idem, The Modern Prince and Other Writings, op. cit., p. 67.