The Liberal Project and Human Rights: The Theory and Practice of a New World Order

by John Charvet , Elisa Kaczynska-Nay

• ISBN13: 9780521883146
• ISBN10: 0521883148
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780511460685
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-12-29
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• More Book Details

Summary

The 'Liberal Project' aims to transform society in accordance with liberal values and practices. This volume argues that the United Nations regime on human rights is an attempt to realise this project on an international level. The authors provide an engaging theoretical and historical context for this argument, defining the concept of liberalism, its origins and evolution, and identify it as a universal value that constitutes the very essence of the international human rights regime. The book explores the possibility of a cross-cultural consensus on the issue being reached, but problems of sovereignty and nationalism are also discussed as potential obstacles to the Liberal Project's completion. This penetrating and insightful work will appeal to a wide range of scholars and students interested in liberalism and human rights from the fields of international relations, law, political theory and political philosophy.

Author Biography

John Charvet is Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics. Elisa Kaczynska-Nay writes and lectures on international law and human rights.

Table of Contents

List of abbreviations	p. viii
Preface	p. xi
Introduction: what is liberalism?	p. 1
Liberal beginnings	p. 17
The contextual origin of liberal thought and practice	p. 19
The Westphalian society of sovereign states	p. 42
The growth of liberal universalism	p. 59
The UN regime on human rights	p. 79
The UN and regional declarations and covenants on human rights	p. 81
The right of peoples to self-determination	p. 110
The right to development and development assistance	p. 136
Women's international human rights	p. 200
The implementation of international human rights	p. 223
Critique and defence of liberalism	p. 289
Western critiques of liberal human rights	p. 291
Liberalism and non-Western cultures	p. 318
In defence of liberalism	p. 350
Notes	p. 365
Index	p. 424
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