"A global history of human rights in a world of nation-states that grant rights to some while denying them to others Once dominated by vast empires, the world is now divided into close to 200 independent countries with laws and constitutions proclaiming human rights-a transformation that suggests that nations and human rights inevitably developed together. But the reality is far more problematic, as Eric Weitz shows in this compelling global history...

Shows us how when one of us tortures, we are all implicated in the crime. These three sharp essays by former attorney general Ramsey Clark, Iraqi dissident Haifa Zangana, and professor of sociology Thomas Ehrlich Reifer, expose how psychologically insidious torture practices are, how deep a mark they leave, and how necessary it is for us as a society to hold torturers accountable. From publisher description.

"Geoffrey Robertson QC tells the dramatic story of how the human-rights idea has come to dominate world politics, culminating in the decision to bomb Serbia for its crimes against humanity. Identifying a shift from diplomacy to law as the crucial post-Cold War development, Robertson reveals what else we can expect from the demand for global justice."--Jacket.

Advocates within the growing field of children's rights have designed dynamic campaigns to protect and promote children's rights. This expanding body of international law and jurisprudence, however, lacks a core text that provides an up-to-date look at current children's rights issues, the evolution of children's rights law, and the efficacy of efforts to protect children. This book focuses on contemporary children's rights, identifying the range...

North Korea's human rights violations are unparalleled in the contemporary world. In Dying for Rights, Sandra Fahy provides the definitive account of the abuses committed by the North Korean state, domestically and internationally, from its founding to the present. Dying for Rights scrutinizes North Korea's treatment of its own people as well as foreign nationals, how violations committed by the state spread into the international realm, and how North...

A history of the successes of the human rights movement and a case for why human rights work. Evidence for Hope makes the case that, yes, human rights work. Critics may counter that the movement is in serious jeopardy or even a questionable byproduct of Western imperialism. They point out that Guantanamo is still open, the Arab Spring protests have been crushed, and governments are cracking down on NGOs everywhere. But respected human rights expert...

In the third edition of his classic work, revised extensively and updated to include recent developments on the international scene, Jack Donnelly explains and defends a richly interdisciplinary account of human rights as universal rights. He shows that any conception of human rights-and the idea of human rights itself-is historically specific and contingent.

Chomsky observes the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a "Path to a Better World," while chronicling how far off the trail the United States is with respect to actual political practice and conduct. Analyzing the contradictions of U.S. power while illustrating the real progress won by sustained popular struggle, Chomsky cuts through official political rhetoric to examine how the United States not only violates the UD,...

"The Europeanization of the World puts forward a defense of Western civilization and the unique gifts it has bequeathed to the world - in particular, human rights and constitutional democracy - at a time when many around the globe equate the West with hubris and thinly veiled imperialism. John Headley argues that the Renaissance and the Reformation provided the effective currents for the development of two distinctive political ideas. The first is...

In this extraordinary work of cultural and intellectual history, Hunt grounds the creation of human rights in the changes that authors brought to literature, the rejection of torture as a means of finding out truth and the spread of empathy.