As such, if it were most beneficial to the State to commit genocide while conquering another nation, that would be the course of action taken. However, again thanks to increased media coverage, the world and governing bodies such as the U.N. Would not sit idly by. For this reason, this perspective is quickly becoming antiquated. Idealism, in contrast, is on the other end of the international relations spectrum. Idealism surmises that a State's internal policies should be reflected in their foreign policies -- what they wish to occur within their boundaries is what they should support outside of their boundaries. Followers of idealism live by the Golden Run -- Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you. The promotion of human rights globally would be incredibly important, from this perspective, as they too would want to enjoy the benefits of human rights themselves. Functionalism, on the other hand, specifically takes into account the effects of globalization.

Functionalism sees the effects of globalization as eroding away the sovereignty of States. The increasing interdependence of nations as the world becomes more globalized has a significant effect on human rights policies. No longer can States have policies in place that violate commonly, internationally held beliefs concerning human rights. The global community has too much power over the individual States to allow this to occur. This is monitored, in part, by the media access and nearly instantaneous transfer of information now available.

Conclusion

The world is a continuously changing place. Globalization and increased media coverage...

The topic of human rights is not new. Ancient civilizations were concerned with these rights. However, humans have demonstrated a tendency to devalue those who are different from themselves, or those who have something they want. Through increased international cooperation, history shows that this international pressure can be a powerful force in improving human rights. This is likely to continue to occur as nation borders become less of a concern and media coverage of violations of human rights help make the global community aware of what is happening elsewhere.
References

Human rights timeline: From antiquity to the Magna Carta. (No date). Retrieved October 28, 2009, from http://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/humanrights/timeline/timeline1.cfm.

Human rights timeline: From European expansion to the Enlightenment. (No date). Retrieved October 28, 2009, from http://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/humanrights/timeline/timeline2.cfm.

Human rights timeline: From the American Revolution to Napoleon. (No date). Retrieved October 28, 2009, from http://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/humanrights/timeline/timeline3.cfm.

Human rights timeline: From the Indian Removal Act to the U.S. Sedition Act. (No date). Retrieved October 28, 2009, from http://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/humanrights/timeline/timeline4.cfm.

Human rights timeline: From the Treaty of Versailles to the formation of the UN. (No date). Retrieved October 28, 2009, from http://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/humanrights/timeline/timeline5.cfm.