The FAU Center for Human Rights Erlangen-Nürnberg is pleased to announce the publication of the new issue of the Journal for Human Rights (zfmr 01/25).
- Issue title: Menschenrechte, Kriminalitätsbekämpfung und nationale Sicherheit (Human Rights, Crime Control, and National Security)
- The issue is now available Open Access and can be downloaded or purchased here: To Issue 01/25
Content
The relationship between human rights and security is both a classical field of tension and a highly topical one. In many contexts, the boundaries of state action in safeguarding security and preventing threats are currently being renegotiated: how far can governments go without undermining the human rights standards to which democratic constitutional states are committed? The challenge lies not only in balancing interests but also in identifying and understanding the often complex normative conflicts that emerge from their entanglement.
In the field of domestic security, this tension becomes apparent at the intersection of law enforcement and the protection of fundamental rights. When state measures rely on criminal prevention, risk assessments, and extensive surveillance, traditional constitutional guarantees – such as the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair trial, or the protection of privacy – increasingly come under pressure. New technologies, such as algorithm-based forecasting tools or digital data analysis platforms, further shift the balance – often toward a comprehensive promise of security, subordinating individual freedoms. This raises not only specific legal but also fundamental human rights questions.
The second focus of this issue lies on national security in the international context – a field marked by the increasing externalization of security measures. Whether in foreign missions, intelligence cooperation, or migration control: states today often act beyond their own territories, yet their human rights obligations do not end there. Rather, the question arises of how extraterritorial responsibility should be defined in human rights terms – legally as well as politically. Matters become particularly complex when multiple actors (both state and non-state) are involved, responsibilities remain diffuse, or security interests collide with obligations under international law.
In both areas – domestic and international security policy – the interplay with human rights creates complex overlaps. Human rights do not simply function as a boundary or counterpart to security, but interact with security goals, generating tensions, reinterpretations, and normative conflicts. These constellations pose new challenges for human rights thinking: How can claims to protection be asserted when threats are anticipated, externalized, or outsourced? And how can it be prevented that security rhetoric and human rights language hollow each other out or become instrumentalized?
The contributions in this issue approach these questions from different disciplinary and methodological perspectives. The authors analyze concrete situations in which human rights and security interests collide – and demonstrate the normative, institutional, and political challenges and opportunities that emerge. (Source: Journal for Human Rights – zfmr 01/25)
Editors
Christina Binder, Tessa Debus, Janina Heaphy, Elisabeth Holzleithner, Arnd Pollmann, Janika Spannagel, Stefan Weyers
Contributors
Ana Paula De Carvalho Oliveira, Axel Dessecker, Annette Förster, Janina Heaphy, Emanuel John, Vincent Knopp, Arnd Pollmann, Thea Posel, Christiane Schulz, Janika Spannagel, Georgios Terizakis, Tjarda Tiedeken
Published by
Wochenschau Verlag
We wish you an inspiring and thought-provoking read.
The FAU Center for Human Rights Erlangen-Nürnberg is pleased to announce the publication of the new issue of the Journal for Human Rights (zfmr 01/25).
Content
The relationship between human rights and security is both a classical field of tension and a highly topical one. In many contexts, the boundaries of state action in safeguarding security and preventing threats are currently being renegotiated: how far can governments go without undermining the human rights standards to which democratic constitutional states are committed? The challenge lies not only in balancing interests but also in identifying and understanding the often complex normative conflicts that emerge from their entanglement.
In the field of domestic security, this tension becomes apparent at the intersection of law enforcement and the protection of fundamental rights. When state measures rely on criminal prevention, risk assessments, and extensive surveillance, traditional constitutional guarantees – such as the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair trial, or the protection of privacy – increasingly come under pressure. New technologies, such as algorithm-based forecasting tools or digital data analysis platforms, further shift the balance – often toward a comprehensive promise of security, subordinating individual freedoms. This raises not only specific legal but also fundamental human rights questions.
The second focus of this issue lies on national security in the international context – a field marked by the increasing externalization of security measures. Whether in foreign missions, intelligence cooperation, or migration control: states today often act beyond their own territories, yet their human rights obligations do not end there. Rather, the question arises of how extraterritorial responsibility should be defined in human rights terms – legally as well as politically. Matters become particularly complex when multiple actors (both state and non-state) are involved, responsibilities remain diffuse, or security interests collide with obligations under international law.
In both areas – domestic and international security policy – the interplay with human rights creates complex overlaps. Human rights do not simply function as a boundary or counterpart to security, but interact with security goals, generating tensions, reinterpretations, and normative conflicts. These constellations pose new challenges for human rights thinking: How can claims to protection be asserted when threats are anticipated, externalized, or outsourced? And how can it be prevented that security rhetoric and human rights language hollow each other out or become instrumentalized?
The contributions in this issue approach these questions from different disciplinary and methodological perspectives. The authors analyze concrete situations in which human rights and security interests collide – and demonstrate the normative, institutional, and political challenges and opportunities that emerge. (Source: Journal for Human Rights – zfmr 01/25)
Editors
Christina Binder, Tessa Debus, Janina Heaphy, Elisabeth Holzleithner, Arnd Pollmann, Janika Spannagel, Stefan Weyers
Contributors
Ana Paula De Carvalho Oliveira, Axel Dessecker, Annette Förster, Janina Heaphy, Emanuel John, Vincent Knopp, Arnd Pollmann, Thea Posel, Christiane Schulz, Janika Spannagel, Georgios Terizakis, Tjarda Tiedeken
Published by
Wochenschau Verlag
We wish you an inspiring and thought-provoking read.