The Colonialism of Human Rights: Ongoing Hypocrisies of Western Liberalism

by Colin Samson

Do so-called universal human rights apply to indigenous, formerly enslaved and colonized peoples?

This trenchant book brings human rights into conversation with the histories and afterlives of Western colonialism and slavery. Colin Samson examines the paradox that the nations that credit themselves with formulating universal human rights were colonial powers, settler colonists and sponsors of enslavement. Samson points out that many liberal theorists supported colonialism and slavery, and how this illiberalism plays out today in selective, often racist processes of recognition and enforcement of human rights. 

To reveal the continuities between colonial histories and contemporary events, Samson connects British, French and American colonial theories and practice to the notion of non-universal human rights. Vivid illustrations and case studies of racial exceptions to human rights are drawn from the afterlives of the enslaved and colonized, as well as recent events such as American police killings of black people, the treatment of Algerian  harkis  in France, the Windrush scandal in Britain and the militarized suppression of the Standing Rock Water Protectors movement. Advocating for reparative justice and indigenizing law, Samson argues that such events are not a failure of liberalism so much as an inbuilt racial dynamic of it.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

Published September 8, 2020

Reviews

[Ian Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this! I have written a book on a similar theme, but was pleased to see that this had much to offer me, as our content was significantly different:

https://www.routledge.com/Responsibil....

[Alex Nedelcu · Rating 4 out of 5]

What good is a right if you can't make use of it? Samson takes us on a safari (sic) around the hypocrisy and the double standards to which the rights of indigenous populations in history. What's more, the colonialism of the present shines as a sore wound, with native territories even now being breached and commandeered for the interests of the state and capital. I distinctly enjoyed the detailed description of the socially constructed roots of human rights, as instruments for conquest and colonization (e.g. rights are given by God, but only for those who own property/work the land). The book fits in neatly as another puzzle piece in the critique of the human rights regime instituted forcefully by the Global North - as violations pile up in their own backyard.

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was superb in it's analysis of the way that human rights narratives are used as a tool of modern empire. Sampson expertly draws out the contradictions of modern human rights narratives, and the history of the Global North in human rights abuse and constructing systems of exploitation.

This book should be top of the reading list for anyone who considers themselves a liberal in the West, it will be tricky reading but is an essential corrective to the historical amnesia in relation to colonialism that is so common amongst many in the establishment in society in the Global North.

[Natalya · Rating 4 out of 5]

really great overview on how colonization impacts human rights. good introduction to the topic, only critique is that since there is so much info to cover some things felt rushed.