Donald Alexander Downs

Civil Liberties and Human Rights

This article addresses the differences between civil liberties, civil rights, and human rights, approaching the subject from a multidisciplinary and global perspective. Among other aspects, the entry focuses on three fundamental tensions in this field: the tension between the philosophical origins of these concepts and their political and historical manifestations and influences; the tension between culture and universalism; and the ironic or ambivalent relationship between rights and state power. A concluding section discusses the special problem of terrorism and rights.