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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!
Stephen Kinzer
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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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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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