Rescuing Human Rights: A Radically Moderate Approach

The development of human rights norms is a significant achievement in international relations and law since 1945, but their credibility is being questioned by authoritarian governments, nationalists, and pundits. Rescuing Human Rights calls for understanding human rights as international human rights law and maintaining the distinctions between binding legal obligations and broader issues of ethics, politics, and social change. Adopting a radically moderate approach that recognizes the potential and limits of international human rights law offers the best hope of preserving the principle that we all have rights, simply because we are human.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 14 February 2019
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

The evolution of human rights standards has been a remarkable accomplishment in international relations and law since 1945. However, the enduring impact of human rights is increasingly being challenged by authoritarian regimes, nationalists, and critics. Regrettably, the proliferation of new rights, linking them to other concerns such as international crimes or the actions of businesses, and attempting to address every social issue from a human rights perspective pose a risk to their credibility.

Rescuing Human Rights advocates for recognizing human rights as international human rights law and maintaining the distinctions between binding legal obligations on governments and broader issues of ethics, politics, and social change. To address complex social problems, a radically moderate approach that acknowledges both the potential and limitations of international human rights law is necessary. This approach offers the best chance of preserving the principle that we all have rights, simply because we are human.

The development of human rights norms has been a significant achievement in international relations and law since 1945. However, the enduring impact of human rights is increasingly being challenged by authoritarian regimes, nationalists, and critics. Regrettably, the proliferation of new rights, linking them to other concerns such as international crimes or the actions of businesses, and attempting to address every social issue from a human rights perspective pose a risk to their credibility.

Rescuing Human Rights advocates for recognizing human rights as international human rights law and maintaining the distinctions between binding legal obligations on governments and broader issues of ethics, politics, and social change. To address complex social problems, a radically moderate approach that acknowledges both the potential and limitations of international human rights law is necessary. This approach offers the best chance of preserving the principle that we all have rights, simply because we are human.

The evolution of human rights standards has been a remarkable accomplishment in international relations and law since 1945. However, the enduring impact of human rights is increasingly being challenged by authoritarian regimes, nationalists, and critics. Regrettably, the proliferation of new rights, linking them to other concerns such as international crimes or the actions of businesses, and attempting to address every social issue from a human rights perspective pose a risk to their credibility.

Rescuing Human Rights advocates for recognizing human rights as international human rights law and maintaining the distinctions between binding legal obligations on governments and broader issues of ethics, politics, and social change. To address complex social problems, a radically moderate approach that acknowledges both the potential and limitations of international human rights law is necessary. This approach offers the best chance of preserving the principle that we all have rights, simply because we are human.

Weight: 368g
Dimension: 152 x 229 x 14 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781108405362