Abstract
This article examines post-9/11 efforts by Western governments to instill respect for human rights among the world’s Muslim populations. The article argues that Western discourses on human rights are best conceptualized as a hegemonic Bourdieusian distinction strategy. In a dynamic strategy of this type, new human rights norms are continually produced and subverted by liberal elites in the West. Because these norms are constantly evolving, Muslim social practices can never “catch up” to them. This produces a perpetual distinction between a progressive liberal Occident and a backwards illiberal Orient, justifying the perpetual hegemony of the former over the latter. In developing its analysis, the article gives special attention to right-wing nationalist movements in Europe and the USA and US foreign policy in the Middle East. These developments are situated in relationship to liberal imperialism in the Colonial era, the Global War on Terrorism, and recent concerns over immigration.
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Notes
Bergen et al. 2019
Le Figaro (Online) 2019
For example, the Netherlands, Sweden, Iceland, and Norway
Poland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland
Although I do not wish to provide a link to such material, it can easily be located through an internet web search.
See below for examples.
British, French, Dutch, and Russian empires
Given linguistic and cultural barriers, Oriental non-elites must have Occidental cultural production “translated” for them through Oriental elites.
For example, Sayyid Ahmad Khan, Muhammad ‘Abduh, and Sayyid Shaykh al-Hadi
For example, Sayyid Ahmad Khan, Muhammad ‘Abduh, and Sayyid Shaykh al-Hadi
Although I address human rights indicators, there are other types of indicators as well (e.g., economic, health-related).
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Nakissa, A. Evolving Conceptions of Human Rights as a Bourdieusian Distinction Strategy: A Critical Perspective on Policies Targeting Muslim Populations. Hum Rights Rev 21, 21–42 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12142-020-00579-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12142-020-00579-w