Human Rights in International Relations

Themes in International Relations

by David P. Forsythe

This new edition of David Forsythe's successful textbook provides an authoritative overview of the place of human rights in international politics in an age of terrorism. The book focuses on four central themes: the resilience of human rights norms, the importance of 'soft' law, the key role of non-governmental organizations, and the changing nature of state sovereignty. Human rights standards are examined according to global, regional, and national levels of analysis with a separate chapter dedicated to transnational corporations. This second edition has been updated to reflect recent events, notably the creation of the ICC and events in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, and new sections have been added on subjects such as the correlation between world conditions and the fate of universal human rights. Containing chapter-by-chapter guides to further reading and discussion questions, this book will be of interest to undergraduate and graduate students of human rights, and their teachers. David Forsythe received the Distinguished Scholar Award for 2007 from the Human Rights Section of the American Political Science Association.

Genres: Nonfiction, International Relations, History, Politics

298 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Ali Nazifpour · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the gist of this book: "The international law on human rights is based on a liberal philosophy, but the practice of the states is usually based on a realist perspective". The book deals with the contradictions within human rights more than anything, whether internal contradictions or contradictions between practice and philosophy.

This book is a very useful resource for everyone interested in human rights in international relations. Unlike most similar books which deal with international law, the book mostly avoids getting bugged down in a laundry list of agreements and dry chronology, instead provides a good summary and overview of historical trends.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good description of the EU and its functions