Demokracija i ljudska prava
Democracy and Human Rights

Summary/Abstract: The relationship between democracy and human rights is twofold: on the one hand, the demand for democracy historically emerged as a result of increased individual rights – and the democratic regime was instituted as a guarantor of the protection of human rights. On the other hand, there is a tension between them, since within the democratic state human rights must be protected from the will of the majority. The author examines the complex relationship between democracy and human rights from three perspectives. First, he examines the connection between the right to political participation and the idea of human rights. This connection was unequivocally established only in the 20th century in the way that the right to the freedom of conscience was interpreted as the right to taking part in the political communication process that shapes a community’s self-definition. However, whereas the right to democratic participation is morally undeniably founded, its concrete institutionalization is faced with numerous dilemmas and challenges. The author further analyzes the controversy between the liberal and the republican understanding of democracy and human rights. Liberals claim that the foundation of human rights in the law of nature reguires universal respect, and that democracy is a rather challenging political regime that may be established in some societies only if some preconditions are already in place. Contrary to this, the republican view, as championed by Habermas, claims that there is an inherent link between human rights and democracy and thus both principles must be universally implemented. In the end, the author examines the tension between the universalism of human rights and the inherent particularism of democracy. This tension cannot be overcome by creating a global state, but may be alleviated by formulating a definition of internal state-guaranteed fundamental rights applicable to non-citizens as well, for example by the right to seek asylum, as well as by the requirement that all democratic communities globally promote respect for human rights and for the establishment of democratic institutions worldwide.

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