"Too much of the literature in human rights has been limited to a consideration of the detail of specific civil and political rights. This book breaks this pattern by introducing political, economic, social, and theoretical issues in a single volume. "Moral Imperialism" is an interesting and informative collection and should become part of any syllabus on the international protection of human rights."
--"Law and Politics Book Review"

In the controversy over female genital mutilation, Congress was quick to condemn practices throughout Africa and the Middle East and to take action criminalizing the practice domestically. Yet at the same time, it bluntly dismissed Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch when they pointed out human rights violations closer to home in the form of the disproportionately high rate of the imposition of capital punishment on black men, and the disempowerment of poor women under new draconian welfare rules. The irony of the United States' international condemnation of types of activities in which it engages within its own borders is not lost on Third World critics.

Moral Imperialism sets out to bring an international human rights framework to the analysis of current international and domestic legal, political, and cultural crises. It explores the United States' moral supremacy during a time of clear domestic shortcomings and asks whether insisting that other nations adhere to norms that derive from dominant U.S. culture and history may harm societies--both within and outside of the U.S.--with radically different cultures and histories.

Contributors include Beverly Greene, Kevin Johnson, M. Patricia Fernandez Kelly, Holly Maguigan, BoaventuraDe Sousa Santos, Saskia Sassen, and Eric Yamamoto.

Documents Annex: http://www.nyupress.org/justtradeannex/index.html It is generally assumed that pro-trade laws are not good for human rights, and legislation that protects human rights hampers vibrant international trade. In a bold departure from this canon, Just Trade makes a case for reaching a middleground between these two fields, acknowledging their coexistence and the significant points at which they overlap. Using actual examples from many of the thirty-five nations of the Western Hemisphere, the authors-one a human rights scholar and the other a trade law expert-carefully combine their knowledge to examine human rights policies throughout the world, never overlooking the very real human rights problems that arise from international trade. However, instead of viewing the two kinds of law as isolated, polar, and sometimes hostile opposites, Berta Esperanza Hernandez-Truyol and Stephen J. Powell make powerful suggestions for how these intersections may be navigated to promote an international marketplace that embraces both liberal trade and liberal protection of human rights.

"Too much of the literature in human rights has been limited to a consideration of the detail of specific civil and political rights. This book breaks this pattern by introducing political, economic, social, and theoretical issues in a single volume. "Moral Imperialism" is an interesting and informative collection and should become part of any syllabus on the international protection of human rights."
--"Law and Politics Book Review"

In the controversy over female genital mutilation, Congress was quick to condemn practices throughout Africa and the Middle East and to take action criminalizing the practice domestically. Yet at the same time, it bluntly dismissed Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch when they pointed out human rights violations closer to home in the form of the disproportionately high rate of the imposition of capital punishment on black men, and the disempowerment of poor women under new draconian welfare rules. The irony of the United States' international condemnation of types of activities in which it engages within its own borders is not lost on Third World critics.

Moral Imperialism sets out to bring an international human rights framework to the analysis of current international and domestic legal, political, and cultural crises. It explores the United States' moral supremacy during a time of clear domestic shortcomings and asks whether insisting that other nations adhere to norms that derive from dominant U.S. culture and history may harm societies--both within and outside of the U.S.--with radically different cultures and histories.

Contributors include Beverly Greene, Kevin Johnson, M. Patricia Fernandez Kelly, Holly Maguigan, BoaventuraDe Sousa Santos, Saskia Sassen, and Eric Yamamoto.

In the mid-1940s, once the full impact of World War II was assessed, the world witnessed major legal developments in both modern trade and human rights. Since then, volumes have been written about modern trade law, and human rights law has seen an equal amount of attention. While these topics constitute two of the most active spheres in international law, follow similar intellectual trajectories, and often feature the same key actors and arenas, neither field has actively engaged with the other. They co-exist in relative isolation at best, peppered by occasional hostile debates. It has come to be a given that pro-trade laws are not good for human rights, and legislation that protects human rights hampers vibrant international trade.

In a bold departure from this canon, Just Trade makes a case for reaching a middle-ground between these two fields, acknowledging their co-existence and the significant points at which they overlap. Using actual examples from many of the 35 nations of the Western Hemisphere, the authors one a human rights scholar and the other specializing in trade law -- carefully combine their expertise to examine human rights policies involving conscripted child labor, sustainable development, promotion of health, equality of women, human trafficking, indigenous peoples, poverty, citizenship, and economic sanctions, never overlooking the very real human rights problems that arise from international trade. However, instead of viewing the two kinds of law as isolated, polar, and sometimes hostile opposites, Berta Esperanza HernAndez-Truyol and Stephen J. Powell make powerful suggestions for how these intersections may be navigated to promote an internationalmarketplace that embraces both liberal trade and liberal protection of human rights.