Ethics & International Affairs Volume 11 (1997): Articles: State Prerogatives Civil Society and Liberalization: The Paradoxes of the Late Twentieth Century in the Third World [Abstract]

Dec 4, 1997

The end of the Cold War has left the international system in a state of paradox, most prominently in the growing conflict between the legal-political global order and the growth of civil society. Monshipouri identifies and discusses three paradoxes that exemplify this central conflict: state-building versus democratization; economic liberalization versus political liberalization; and human rights versus state sovereignty. In discussing each of these paradoxes, the author describes the difficulties and ethical questions involved in making economic and political reforms without the necessary means and institutional resources. Monshipouri concludes that in order to manage such dilemmas, Third World states must find a delicate balance between global economic reforms and an ethically sensitive international political and legal order.

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