This comprehensive introduction to the study of human rights in international politics blends concrete developments with theoretical inquiry, illuminating both in the process. Franke Wilmer presents the nuts and bolts of human rights concepts, actors, and implementation before grappling with issues ranging from war and genocide to social and economic needs to racial and religious    More >

The connection between Soviet authoritarianism and human rights violations once seemed unassailable, as did the belief that a transition away from communist rule would lead to better protection of human rights. Challenging these assumptions, Jonathan Weiler argues that the tumultuous processes associated with political and economic reform have, in important instances, eroded human rights in    More >

Tony Evans critically investigates the theory and practice of human rights in the current global order. Evans covers a range of contentious debates as he considers critiques of the prevailing conceptions of human rights. He then explores the changing global context of human rights issues, the nature and status of human rights within that context, and recent institutional responses. With its    More >

Do human rights inform the nature of politics in the Muslim world today? If so, how? And perhaps more fundamentally, why? Linking these questions in a provocative way, Anthony Tirado Chase persuasively rejects popular arguments that there is an incompatibility between human rights and Islam. Chase uses a range of local developments as his point of departure, in the process stressing the    More >

This original collection reflects nearly two decades of developments in human rights scholarship, revisiting the debate between universalists and cultural relativists and also engaging new notions of "third generation" rights. The book begins with an analytical framework that encompasses changing perspectives on human rights and informs the chapters that follow. The case studies then    More >

South Africa has the unfortunate distinction of being one of the top-ten worldwide routes for trafficking in persons, or TIP, a massive phenomenon fueled by poverty, forced migration, government corruption, and digital communications that decrease the distance between victim and perpetrator. In his deep study of human trafficking in South Africa, Philip Frankel explores the nature of TIP,    More >

Humane Migration offers a fresh look at the debate on international migration, particularly in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Arguing that migration should be considered  a human right, not a criminal act,  Christine Ho and James Loucky discuss why groups migrate, the obstacles that they face, and the benefits that they bring to their adopted communities.    More >

Do humanitarian NGOs function as autonomous—and even influential—nonstate actors with their own value-driven agendas? Or do they serve merely as the paid agents of national governments, providing a service-delivery function in line with those nations' foreign policy goals? Shedding light on this often-contentious issue, Abby Stoddard uses examples of US policy in the conflicts in    More >

Why has the international community been unwilling, time and time again, to address the humanitarian crises that have killed millions of people in postcolonial states and forced many millions more to leave their homes and livelihoods? Focusing on the role of major media outlets, the authors of Humanitarian Crises and Intervention provide a unique look at violent conflicts in Angola, Burundi,    More >

Humanitarianism Under Fire is a candid, detailed narrative of the international humanitarian intervention in Somalia—an intervention that became a deadly test of the UN’s ability to carry out a peace operation using armed force. Kenneth Rutherford presents new information gleaned from interviews and intensive research in five countries. His evidence shows how Somalia became a    More >