Bertil Dunér

The Global Human Rights Regime Bertil Dunér Ned edition

Human Rights have increasingly become important for students of International Relations. This book is a stocktaking of the UN sponsored, global human rights regime. Its most salient characteristics and problems are pinpointed and possibilities for regime development discussed. On a number of accounts, novel research insights are presented. The naissance and development of the global human rights framework is first addressed in terms af an analysis of regime properties and problems, followed by a penetrating study of the continual questioning of the regime from within. While the state and the individual are in the center of the global human rights order, there has been a continual tendency towards extension of the regime core, which is analyzed in a separate chapter with a focus on aggregates such as non-governmental organizations and transnational business corporations. Two chapters are dedicated to human rights in bilateral foreign policy, including the use of force for the sake of human rights. A common thread runs through these chapters: the pinpointing of policy constraints and the difficulties of rational evaluation of policy performance. The historical function of the extant regime is addressed in the final chapter, notably the significance attributed to it by the UN itself. The book is intended for a rather wide readership: students, academics as well as practitioners in the field.