Child labor in the modern era. (c2014)

Abstract

The employment of children in adult fields has long been an issue in countries across the globe, including the United States, and it has been brought to the attention of the international arena time and time again. However, child labor is still widespread regardless of the fact that it’s the 21st century. Enough literature is available to portray the many efforts taken in attempt to bring a halt to this dilemma, but the gaps in the executions of domestic and foreign child labor policies have been omitted. To tackle these gaps, I use historical, qualitative, and quantitative research methods, starting with a background on child labor and an analysis of child labor in public international law relative to the United States’ involvement. After subsequently focusing on underage labor in the US and in US foreign policy, with the use of case studies to show its pervasive presence, the Realist school of thought is resorted to for showing the constraints posed on Liberalism’s outtake. Following the theoretical analysis, results show that the process of Globalization is propelling the need for underage labor due to MEET increasing consumer demands along with other factors. Results also show that although Globalization negatively affects child labor, it also comes with some positive effects.