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Article: Human rights in a post-Cold War world.
- Article from:
- National Forum
- Article date:
- September 22, 1992
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1992 Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The idea of human rights is one of the most appealing contributions of Western civilization. Rooted in some aspects of Greco-Roman culture, developed by the Enlightenment philosophes, implemented on a grand scale following the American--and less securely the French--revolutions, the abstract concept of human rights has generated broad support. In the 1990s, from China to Chile, from Kampuchea to Kenya, people are demanding greater attention to human rights. Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security advisor to President Carter, wrote provocatively in 1989 that the notion of human rights was "the single most magnetic political idea of the contemporary time."
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