How Do We Define Global Norms for Freedom of Expression? - Columbia University

rintongs.blogspot.com

Q: President Bollinger, a First Amendment scholar, co-edited this book with you, a leading expert on global freedom of expression. How did your two areas of expertise complement each other?

A: The U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment has been a major influential source for the global development of freedom of expression norms. Even if that contribution is not formally acknowledged or referenced in international standard-setting exercises or in national or regional jurisprudence, it nonetheless is there: in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in the persistent affirmation of the centrality of press freedom in considerations of democracy worldwide, in the position taken globally against criminal libel, etc. The First Amendment’s philosophical foundations, its history and jurisprudence across a century or so has been a constant influence on the development of my own expertise on global free speech norms. I could not have wished for a better mentor and First Amendment scholar than President Lee Bollinger. Lee approaches the First Amendment critically, not as a sacred text to remain challenge. For him, it as a doorway into U.S. history and political culture; a proposition, unfinished but tested through changing times and circumstances, that is problematic at times in terms of its implications. For all these reasons, our areas of expertise complemented each other well. Both of us reject “legal nationalism,” the notion that one legal culture or tradition is better, stronger, etc.

The book relies on the work of social constructivists, particularly that of Martha Finnemore and Kathyrn Sikkink, to define norms as standards of appropriate behaviors, often but not always codified in law, and global norms are those which have reached a "tipping point" or critical mass of state endorsements. To determine whether global norms have emerged on specific free speech issues, contributors have critically examined international law alongside various legal traditions, national and regional jurisprudence, including the First Amendment. This later figures large as one of the sources of global norms and one of the outliers. The chapters in the first section of the book cover an impressive number of jurisdictions, and their law and jurisprudence. Out of this review, global norms may be woven.

Q: What do you want people to take away from Regardless of Frontiers?

A: In the context of a decade dominated by attacks on the global project—on multilateralism, on global values and on the U.N., in particular—and the ideals of human rights, Regardless of Frontiers stands as an authoritative work that pushes back against those trends. It offers a truly global perspective, a powerful snapshot of the state of play of freedom of expression over the 70-odd years that have passed since the international community’s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and a century after the original First Amendment jurisprudence. It offers a vision of freedom of expression exercised and protected, regardless of frontiers, which does not fall prey to the tendency toward legal nationalism. It is critical of those achievements; it does not take them for granted but recognizes their limitations. However, in an era where populism and nationalism dominate, Regardless of Frontiers shows just how far we have come as a global community on one particular and significant issue. Such a global snapshot—of the international standards and norms that may be said to be global; of the actors who, over time, founded this global, interactive system; of those acting against it—is not available elsewhere and that makes this publication unique.

From a scholarly standpoint, the book is the first of its kind to study freedom of expression by applying a “global norm” framework. It examines critically the extent to which global norms on freedom of expression and information have emerged and what actors and forces contribute to this globalization. It challenges the comparative jurisprudence tradition, which to date is characterized by strong biases in terms of the jurisdictions compared (mostly Western and common law systems) and by a focus on differences as opposed to commonalities. In contrast, Regardless of Frontiers highlights jurisprudence from around the world, including from the Global South and from different legal traditions, and it identifies what this jurisprudence has in common, as opposed to what may set them apart. The book is broader and more global in scope than much of the literature, and it offers contributions that are both empirical (e.g. by mapping the norms, values, and systems around free expression) and theoretical (e.g. by establishing a coherent global legal framework to address such issues as political expression and access to government information). The writing is rich and clear. It brings together the voices of some of the world’s top scholars and commentators on these issues, offering refreshingly diverse, balanced, and nuanced perspectives.

Q: You are a busy person, but hopefully you have time to read for pleasure. What books are you reading now and why?

A: Richard Powers’s The Overstory: I love trees, and it’s an extraordinary book. Karine Tuil’s Les choses humaines: highly topical in France (and elsewhere) in that it looks at the abuse of power, including at the most intimate level, and the complicity of those in the know. Max Tegmark's Life 3.0, having just finished C. Robert Cargill’s Sea of Rust: the issue at the heart of these two books will define what it means to be human in the years to come.

Q: Imagine, in a post-COVID world, that you're hosting a dinner party.  Which three scholars, authors, activists, or artists, dead or alive, would you invite and why?

A: I would sneak my mother in as a co-host, because I miss her terribly and every day; Brittle (the robot), for her views on what it means to be human, about consciousness, free will, and choice; Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi, the founders of Black Lives Matter, for their views and in celebration of their actions on systemic racism, reparations, and grassroots organizing; and Olympes de Gouges for her vision, activism and courage, for her dreams of equality. She wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen in 1791, campaigned for women’s rights and against slave trade. For that, she was executed in 1794.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"freedom" - Google News
March 12, 2021 at 03:31AM
https://ift.tt/3ewzwny

How Do We Define Global Norms for Freedom of Expression? - Columbia University
"freedom" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2VUAlgg
https://ift.tt/2VYSiKW

Bagikan Berita Ini