Afghanistan's borders are arbitrary, drawn to meet 19th-century political needs rather than to respect ethnic or religious patterns.
Stephen KinzerRead
Want to depose the government of a poor country with resources? Want to bash Muslims? Want to build support for American military interventions around the world? Want to undermine governments that are raising their people up from poverty because they don't conform to the tastes of Upper West Side intellectuals? Use human rights as your excuse!
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote criticizes the use of human rights as a pretext for geopolitical interventions.
Stephen Kinzer's quote emphasizes how the notion of human rights can be manipulated to justify political actions that serve the interests of powerful nations. It highlights the hypocrisy in using human rights rhetoric as a cover for undermining governments that strive to improve the lives of their citizens, particularly when those governments do not align with Western ideologies or interests.
Themes
Human RightsInterventionPoliticsHypocrisyPower
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech addressing the complexities of foreign aid, this quote can illustrate the potential misuse of human rights rhetoric.
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After installing friendly leaders in Iran and Guatemala, the United States lost interest in promoting democracy in either country.
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Every nation, like every individual, would like to believe it owes 'no apology' to anyone. Adults realise, however, that few among us are purely innocent or utterly blameless.
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