Human Rights and World Trade: Hunger in International Society

by Gonzalez-Pelaez; Ana

• ISBN13: 9780415349390
• ISBN10: 0415349397
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-04-19
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This book provides an analysis of the political viability of human rights and offers an in-depth investigation of the largest violation of human rights: world hunger. Dr. Gonzalez-Pelaez develops John Vincent's theory of basic human rights within the context of the international political economy and demonstrates how the right to food has become an international norm enshrined with international law. She then assesses the international normative and practical dimensions of hunger in connection with international trade and poverty. Using the society of states as the framework of analysis, she explores the potential that the current system has to correct its own anomalies, and examine the measures that can move the hunger agenda forward in order to break through its current stagnation. Demonstrating the interaction between international relations and international political economy, this book will be of significant interest to IR theorists as well as human rights scholars and practitionersconcerned with basic rights and the problem of hunger.

Table of Contents

List of tables	ix
Series editor's preface	x
Acknowledgements	xiii
List of abbreviations	xv
Introduction	1	(5)
1 The problem of hunger	6	(26)
Definitions	6	(1)
Statistics: size and shape of the problem	7	(5)
Causes of the problem	12	(9)
Introduction to international trade	21	(11)
2 Basic human rights: political origins	32	(21)
The basic rights discourse	32	(11)
Basic rights in Vincent	43	(7)
The right to food	50	(3)
3 Basic rights in international society: the right to food	53	(25)
The World Food Summit and plan of action	53	(8)
Poverty summits	61	(5)
World trade and the Doha Declaration	66	(3)
The degree of legalisation	69	(9)
4 International trade and the options for eradicating hunger	78	(37)
Theoretical background	79	(6)
Maintaining the current liberal trading system	85	(7)
Maintaining the existing system while introducing reforms	92	(13)
Radical change in the system	105	(9)
Anticipating Vincent's position	114	(1)
5 Can international society eliminate hunger?	115	(19)
Summary of the key points in the argument so far	115	(3)
World society	118	(10)
International society: solidarism-pluralism	128	(6)
6 Conclusion: assessment of Vincent's basic rights project	134	(9)
The viability of the basic right to food	134	(4)
Vincent's contribution to the English school	138	(5)
Notes	143	(2)
Bibliography	145	(22)
Index	167