Bait and Switch: Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy

by Mertus; Julie

• ISBN13: 9780415964487
• ISBN10: 0415964482
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-02-15
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

It has become routine for the US government to invoke human rights to justify its foreign policy decisions and military ventures. But this human rights talk has not been supported by a human rights walk. Policy makers consistently apply a double standard for human rights norms: one the rest of the world must observe, but which the US can safely ignore. Based on extensive interviews with leading foreign policy makers, military officials, and human rights advocates, Mertus tells the story of how America's attempts to promote human rights abroad have, paradoxically, undermined those rights in other countries. The second edition brings the story up-to-date, including new sections on the second half of the Bush administration and the Iraq War, and updates on Afghanistan. The first edition of Bait and Switch won the American Political Science Association's 2005 Best Book on Human Rights.

Author Biography

Julie A. Mertus is a professor of human rights at American University and co-director of the Ethics, Peace and Global Affairs Program.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Preface to Second Edition	p. xi
Introduction: All That Glitters ...	p. 1
The Lingua Franca of Diplomacy: Human Rights and the Post-Cold War Presidencies	p. 25
The New Military Humanism Under Attack: Human Rights and the U.S. Armed Forces	p. 107
Raising Expectations?: Civil Society's Influence on Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy	p. 157
Conclusion: Bait and Switch?	p. 227
Selected List of Persons Interviewed	p. 237
Bibliography	p. 243
Index	p. 283
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