Human Rights in Political Transitions: Gettysburg to Bosnia [Paperback]

Carla Hesse (Editor), Robert Post (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 1999

This book brings together prominent scholars and political activists to assess the evolution of the international human rights agenda since the end of the Cold War. It argues for a major reorientation of the objectives and strategies of the human rights community in light of the emergence of renewed and often virulent forms of political tyranny and civil conflict.

For many years, the primary objective of human rights proponents has been to ensure the adoption, monitoring, and enforcement of international agreements. Our ability to enforce such agreements, however, presupposes cultures in which law is a basic element of the social order. Today the world must deal with extreme cases of human rights abuse—in places like Rwanda, Bosnia, Haiti, and Cambodia—that involve societies undergoing dramatic political transitions. In these countries violent conflict can be ended only by the establishment of new democratic regimes and the rule of law. In the post-Cold War era it has become increasingly clear that full protection of human rights depends upon the creation of such regimes. Organized around the themes of punishment, reconciliation, and law, the essays argue that the scope of human rights activism must expand beyond human rights agreements to active assistance for transitional societies in the reconstitution of civic and political order.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Human rights, as statesmen and diplomats know, are at the core of contemporary political thought and international action. But are human rights genuinely universal? Can the world community override national sovereignty to enforce respect for human rights? What do we do to prevent future Rwandas and Kosovos? Readers ready to tackle such big political and ethical questions will find plenty to reflect upon in this collection of insightful essays. The distinguished panel of contributors, who range from activists to university law professors, concentrate on four basic themes: punishment, reconciliation, creating a culture of law, and transitions. Well-constructed essays discuss lessons learned in Argentina, Chile, and Haiti and at the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia and build on historical experience to develop new legal concepts. Along the way, it is argued that truly putting the horrors of the 20th century behind us will require even broader recognition of the universality of human rights and that the culture of democracy builds respect for human rights just as it dampens our urge to fight. Recommended for academic libraries.ARaymond Walser, U.S. Dept. of State, Washington, DC
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Carla Hesse is Professor of History at the University of California at Berkeley. Robert Post is the Alexander F. and May T. Morrison Professor of Law at Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley.

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Zone Books (September 10, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890951005
• ISBN-13: 978-1890951009
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,659,358 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best collections on the issue, April 19, 2000

By 

Christopher Kaplonski (Cambridge, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Human Rights in Political Transitions: Gettysburg to Bosnia (Paperback)

For my newest research project, I have been reading fairly extensively in the literature on how societies emerging from oppressive regimes deal with the legacies of political violence and human rights abuses. This book is one of best collections on the issue I've read. There are two major strengths that make this book stand out. The first is the historical breadth. By looking at not only the Latin American cases, or South Africa, but including the American Civil War and the Nuremburg trials, the editors present us with a larger, more encompassing view of the issues at stake than one usually finds in such works. This breadth should also help keeping any one group from being too smug that at least *they* weren't involved in such abuses, as several contributions make clear, for example, the US role in human rights abuses in Latin America. The second strength is that the essays are written by a combination of academics and human rights activists. This offers the reader a blend of theoretical insights and overviews, while also providing grounded case studies, where we can see the theory in action, so to speak. The contributions of the human rights activists keeps the academics from appearing to discuss merely abstract concepts, and the academics (usually) provide a wider framework for what the activists are telling us. I do have a few minor gripes, but they are minor. Some of the academics seem to forget that there are living, breathing people involved in these issues. Abstractions may be useful, but one shouldn't forget they must ultimately link to people, or risk being worse than useless. And the other gripe is simply that I would have liked to see more engagement with the post-Soviet issues, but that is a personal bias. In short, this book is highly recommended. It it suggested reading for anyone interested in how people and governments around the world are trying to come to terms with one of the most disgraceful legacies of the 20th century.