Human rights at the crossroads of democratic ideals

Authors

  • Helena Singer

Keywords:

Human rights, Democracy, Universal reason, Penalties, Enlightenment

Abstract

The article examines human rights at the crossroads of democratic ideals, starting from the link between universal reason, human rights, and democracy. The exposition reconstructs a brief three-hundred-year history, from the English, American, and French revolutions to the Universal Declaration of 1948, and analyzes the paradoxes of democracy after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The text examines the thought of Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Beccaria on the general will, political regimes, the application of penalties, and the critique of torture and the death penalty. The investigation analyzes the crossroads of universal dichotomies and concludes with the need to incorporate conflict into the debate and expand the scope of human rights.

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References

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Published

1998-07-01

How to Cite

SINGER, Helena. Human rights at the crossroads of democratic ideals. Brazilian Journal of Criminal Science, São Paulo, v. 23, n. 23, p. 217–230, 1998. Disponível em: https://publicacoes.ibccrim.org.br/index.php/RBCCRIM/article/view/3765. Acesso em: 20 oct. 2026.

Issue

Section

Sociologia Jurídica
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