Human rights: a universal language of international communication or a product of Western legal thought?

Abstract

A vigorous human rights movement that began after World War II contributed to the establishment of human rights as the most influential language of international communication. Even states that do not share Western piety regarding the doctrine of human rights and its practical implementation were forced to recognize the most important documents in this area in order to become full participants in the international community. However, the doctrine of human rights, claiming to be indisputable universality, is still met with opposition in the countries of the Far East and Islam.

The author examines the main problems that prevent the doctrine of human rights from gaining universality and effectiveness, both at the international level and in the domestic politics of non-Western states. These problems include, firstly, various methodological attitudes towards cognition of legal phenomena, legal thinking in general. Second, there are completely different intellectual foundations for understanding the concepts of «will», «freedom» and «individualism». The author examines the features of Western legal and philosophical traditions as necessary conditions for the formation of modern views on human rights, as well as the difficulties and fundamental contradictions in the transfer of these ideas to traditional societies.