The complexity of the relationship between human rights and national interests

Abstract

The following article studies the complexity of relationships between the protection of
human rights and national interest. National interest is an integral part of any states’ foreign
policy. Although human rights and national interests are incompatible or even conflicting
concepts, scholars argue that rights cannot be neglected and ought to play important role in
states’ interests. The main purpose of the study was a thorough analysis of the tension between
security and economic governmental interests and the defence of its citizens’ natural rights.
The acuity of the issue is that quite often human rights are devalued due to the requirements of
security or economy. The article raises the problem of the significance of international human
rights and the necessity to protect a state basing its research on the theoretical framework of
realism. As a result of the conducted research, it is possible to define the main factors constraining
the protection of human rights.