在當前的政治世界中，民主與人權，已經成為普遍追求的理想與價值。 然而兩者間的關係，近年來在東亞地區，受到各種不同論述的質疑與挑戰。本文 試圖從理論及政治實踐的角度，分析不同的挑戰觀點及其限制，並論證人權、民 主與發展之間的內在關係。這是作者對於人權與民主間複雜關係的初步嘗試，主 要集中探討傳統人權論述與主權國家內部民主運作的內在關係，在另一篇文章 中，作者將針對國際人權發展中許多新興的人權，例如和平權、發展權與環境權， 與正在逐漸形成的超越主權界線的全球性治理模式(Global Governance)的網絡，對 人權與民主的關係作另一層面的檢視。

　　　　　The purpose of this paper is to explore the relation between human rights and democracy. In the recent year, the interrelation of democracy and human rights has been challenged by Illiberal democracy and Asian values discourses. The author analyzes these discourses that address challenges to democracy and human rights at national and international levels. As I shall show, achieving an adequate understanding of this relationship depends not only on how we define democracy, but also on whether we extend our conception of human rights beyond the civil and political domains. The author clarifies the connection between democracy and human rights within states. Only after it's accomplished there can we then consider its implications for relations between states, and for the international system generally.