THE ACHILLES’ HEEL OF HUMAN RIGHTS: PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE INTERDEPENDENCE AND ASYMMETRY OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY

Abstract

The article examines a structural asymmetry in the global system of human rights ensuring namely, the imbalance between robust international legal guarantees for human rights and comparatively weak requirements for democratic governance. It argues that this asymmetry is the system’s “Achilles’ heel,” rendering it vulnerable to democratic backsliding, a process starkly illustrated by the sequential dismantling of democratic institutions and human rights protections in Russia. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the study traces how the originally integrated Enlightenment liberal project articulated by John Locke – grounded in the inseparable triad of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law – was transformed over time. The rift between democratic governance and human rights was clearly manifested during the U.S. constitutional debates between Federalists and Anti-Federalists over the necessity of a Bill of Rights. In the twentieth century, human rights acquired strong international protection, materialized in binding treaties and individual complaint mechanisms, whereas democratic standards remained largely declaratory and constrained by the principle of respect for state sovereignty. This gap creates conditions for democratic backsliding and autocratic legalism – that is, the gradual dismantling of checks and balances through formally lawful means, ultimately creating a ‘Frankenstate’ with a democratic facade hiding an autocratic core. This process, in turn, undermines the protection of human rights. The conclusion emphasizes that the weakness of international mechanisms for protecting democracy shifts primary responsibility for its safeguard to the national level, in particular to constitutional review bodies and civil society.