Introduction

Abstract

As was the case during the Cold War in the final century of the last millennium, the words “human rights” are still constantly presented to us by politicians, the media, and activists claiming to work for the advancement of these rights. Human rights rank along with democracy and free markets in the normative language of our age. Human rights are often used as the ultimate normative reference point. Several years ago, I attended a conference on nationalism and ethics. There was a great deal of difficulty in coming to grips with the negative aspect of nationalism, but a wish to capture the positive, self-determining aspects of it. One participant offered that nationalism was acceptable so long as human rights were respected. Everyone at the conference seemed to agree that a solution to the conundrum had been found, as though the meaning of human rights was crystal clear while the meaning of nationalism was murky.