Achieving Human Rights » (New Edition)

Richard Falk once again captures our attention with a nuanced analysis of what we need to do - at the personal level as well as state actions - to refocus our pursuit of human rights in a post-9/11 world. From democratic global governance, to the costs of the Iraq War, the preeminent role of the United States in the world order to the role of individual citizens of a globalized world, Falk stresses the moral urgency of achieving human rights. In elegant simplicity, this book places the priority of such an ethos in the personal decisions we make in our human interactions, not just the activities of government institutions and non-governmental organizations. Falk masterly weaves together such topics as the Iraq War, U.S. human rights practices and abuses, humanitarian intervention, the rule of law, responses to terrorism, genocide in Bosnia, the Pinochet trial, the Holocaust, and information technology to create a moral tapestry of world order with human rights at the center.

Introduction 1

Pt. I Overview 11

1 Toward a Necessary Utopianism: Democratic Global Governance 13

2 The Power of Rights and the Rights of Power: What Future for Human Rights? 25

3 Orientalism and International Law 39

Pt. II Nurturing Global Democracy 55

4 Toward Global Democracy 57

5 Citizenship and Globalization 67

Pt. III International Criminal Law 81

6 The Holocaust and the Emergence of International Human Rights 83

7 The Pinochet Moment: Whither Universal Jurisdiction? 97

8 Genocide at the World Court: The Case Against Serbia 121

Pt. IV Human Rights After 9/11 127

9 A Descending Spiral 129

10 Encroaching on the Rule of Law: Counter-Terrorist Justifications 144

11 Humanitarian Intervention 166

Pt. V Beyond Politics 179

12 Crimes, Lies, and Law: Human Rights in Adversity 181

13 Humanity in Question 192

14 The Ideal of the Citizen Pilgrim 202

Notes 208

Acknowledgements 233

Index 235