Human Rights, the Rule of Law, and Development in Africa / / ed. by Paul Tiyambe Zeleza, Philip J. McConnaughay.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter DG and UP eBook Package 2000-2015
• MitwirkendeR: Heyns, Christof,; Ibhawoh, Bonny,; Juma, Monica Kathina,; Mamba, Jatham C.,; Mazrui, Alamin M.,; Mbunda, Luitfried,; Mengisteab, Kidane,; Mutua, Makau,; Okoye, Ada O.,; Osinbajo, Yemi,; Pityana, N. Barney,; Saldhana, Vincent,; Thabet, Ahmed,; Tiyambe Zeleza, Paul,; Tlakula, Pansy,; Udogu, E. Ike,; Veney, Cassandra R.,; Villoen, Frans,; Welch Jr., Claude E.,
• HerausgeberIn: McConnaughay, Philip J.,; Zeleza, Paul Tiyambe,
• Place / Publishing House: Philadelphia : : University of Pennsylvania Press, , [2011]; ©2004
• Year of Publication: 2011
• Language: English
• Series: Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (312 p.)

Changes in human rights environments in Africa over the past decade have been facilitated by astounding political transformations: the rise of mass movements and revolts driven by democratic and developmentalist ideals, as well as mass murder and poverty perpetuated by desperate regimes and discredited global agencies.Human Rights, the Rule of Law, and Development in Africa seeks to make sense of human rights in Africa through the lens of its triumphs and tragedies, its uneven developments and complex demands. The volume makes a significant contribution to the debate about the connections between the protection of human rights and the pursuit of economic development by interrogating the paradigms, politics, and practices of human rights in Africa. Throughout, the essays emphasize that democratic and human rights regimes are products of concrete social struggles, not simply textual or legal discourses.Including some of Africa's leading scholars, jurists, and human rights activists, contributors to the volume diverge from Western theories of African democratization by rejecting the continental view of an Africa blighted by failure, disease, and economic malaise. It argues instead that Africa has strengthened and shaped international law, such as the right to self-determination, inspired by the process of decolonization, and the definition of the refugee. Insisting on the holistic view that human rights are as much about economic and social rights as they are about civil and political rights, the contributors offer novel analyses of African conceptions, experiences, and aspirations of human rights which manifest themselves in complex global, regional, and local idioms. Further, they explore the varied constructions of human rights in African and Western discourses and the roles played by states and NGOs in promoting or subverting human rights.Combining academic analysis with social concern, intellectual discourse with civic engagement, and scholarly research with institution building, this is a compelling and original approach to the question whether externally inspired solutions to African human rights issues have validity in a postcolonial world.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Introduction The Struggle for Human Rights in Africa -- Part I. Universalism and Relativism in Human Rights Discourse -- 1 Restraining Universalism: Africanist Perspectives on Cultural Relativism in the Human Rights Discourse -- 2 Toward a Theory of Applied Cultural Relativism in Human Rights -- 3 Globalism and Some Linguistic Dimensions of Human Rights in Africa -- 4 The Rule of Law and Sociopolitical Dynamics in Africa -- 5 Human Rights and Minorities: A Theoretical Overview -- 6 Globalization and Narrowing the Scope of Democracy in Africa -- Part II. The Economic and Political Dimensions of Human Rights -- 7 Human Rights and Development -- 8 Human Rights, Economic Development, and the Corruption Factor -- 9 The Regional Protection of Human Rights in Africa: An Overview and Evaluation -- 10 Securing Human Rights Through the Rule of Law in Tanzania -- 11 The Human Rights Situation in Egypt -- 12 A Sustainable U.S. Foreign Policy Toward Africa: Promoting Human Rights, Development, and the Rule of Law -- Part III. NGOs and Struggles for Human Rights -- 13 African Human Rights Organizations: Questions of Context and Legitimacy -- 14 Human Rights and Development in Africa: NGOs -- 15. NGOs and the Promotion of Human Rights in South Africa -- 16 Civil Society and the Struggle for Human Rights and Democracy in Zambia -- 17 The Compromised Brokers: NGOs and Displaced Populations in East Africa -- Notes -- References -- Contributors -- Index