Human rights standards : : hegemony, law, and politics / / Makau Mutua.

• VerfasserIn: Mutua, Makau,
• Place / Publishing House: Albany, New York : : State University of New York Press,, 2016.; ©2016
• Year of Publication: 2016
• Language: English
• Series: SUNY series, James N. Rosenau series in Global Politics
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (258 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

How are human rights norms made, who makes them, and why? In Human Rights Standards, Makau Mutua traces the history of the human rights project and critically explores how the norms of the human rights movement have been created. Examining key texts and documents published since the inception of the human rights movement at the end of World War II, he crafts a bracing critique of these works from the hitherto underutilized perspective of the Global South. Attention is focused on the deficits of the international order and how that order, which is defined by multiple asymmetries, defines human rights in a manner that exhibits normative gaps and cultural biases. Mutua identifies areas of further norm development and concludes that norm-creating processes must be inclusive and participatory to garner legitimacy across various cleavages and divides. The result is the first truly comprehensive critical look at the making of human rights norms and standards and, as such, will be an invaluable resource for students, scholars, activists, and policymakers interested in this important topic.

Table of Contents

Contents; Preface; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Chapter One: Norm Setting in International Law and Human Rights; Historical Antecedents; The Universal Declaration and the Promise of a Normative Foundation; Chapter Two: The Process of Standard Setting in Human Rights ; Standards, Norms, and Rights: Internally Displaced Persons as a Case Study ; The Weight of Declarations ; Traditional Obstacles to Standard Setting; Obstinacy of Global Powers in Human Rights Standard Setting; Politics as Obstruction; The Ownership of Norms and Standards; The Evolution of Ownership

Constituencies and OwnershipChapter Three: The Multiplication of Actors ; The UN Human Rights Commission/ Human Rights Council; International and Regional Standard Setting; Chapter Four: The Role of Ngos in the Creation of Norms ; Ngos and the Human Rights Agenda; Ngos and Standard Setting; Ngo Strategies and Methods in Standard Setting; Ngos and States Play Hide-and-Seek; Chapter Five: The Question of Deficits ; The Deficit of Participants; The Deficit of Voice; The Deficit of Democracy; Language: Style, Content, and Implementation; Understanding Un Institutions and Norm Setting

Standard Setting and Implementation in PracticeChapter Six: New and Emerging Standards; What Is the Future of Standard Setting in Human Rights?; The Quest to Clarify Economic and Social Rights; The Normative Framework on Disabilities; Sexual Orientation; Possibilities for More Standards; Is There a Need for New Strategies?; Chapter Seven: A Normative Critique of Human Rights ; Political Democracy and Human Rights; Human Rights, Ideology, and Politics; Pathologies of Choice and Substance; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index