PHIL 338: Study Questions on Topic #9: International Enforcement of Human Rights
1. Explain and distinguish the following terms (you may use examples):
unidirectional/collective enforcement of human rights
2. (a) Locke gives three problems faced by people in a state of nature that he believes would lead them to establish a government. What are they? Explain them. (b) What is the International State of Nature? (c) Which of Locke's three problems is not faced by all parties in the International State of Nature? Explain. (d) How would the establishment of the International Criminal Court solve all three problems for human rights violations in the International State of Nature?
3. (a) If the
International Criminal Court had existed during World War II, would the fire
bombing of Dresden and Tokyo or the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima
and Nagasaki been prosecutable as crimes?
Explain. (b) Suppose they
would have been prosecutable. In your
opinion, is this a reason that justifies the
4. (a) Mayerfeld lists four ways that states might deal with the International State of Nature. Interestingly, all four have actually been tried at one time or another. List all four and give an historical example of each, with an explanation of why each example belongs in the relevant category on Mayerfeld's list.