Human rights, civil rights Books

Book SynopsisAndrei Sakharov holds an honoured place in the pantheon of the world's greatest scientists, reformers, and champions of human rights. Drawing from a 2014 Hoover Institution conference focused on Sakharov's life and principles, this book tells the compelling story of his metamorphosis from a distinguished physical scientist into a courageous, outspoken dissident humanitarian voice.

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Book SynopsisDiscusses slavery around the world, with research and firsthand stories that reframe slavery as a modern-day crisis, not a historical phenomenon or third-world issue. Identifying four types of slavery - chattel slavery, debt bondage, forced labour, and sex slavery - W. Kurt Hauser examines the efforts and failures of governments to address them.

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Book SynopsisThe first work written by a defector about the phenonmenon of defection itself - its scope, characters, and trends. Its principal source is a secret Soviet document, the most KGB Wanted List, which provides information on the personal background, circumstances of defection, and current status of post-World War II defectors.

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Book SynopsisHegel''s Philosophy of Right presents a collection of new essays by leading international philosophers and Hegel scholars that analyze and explore Hegel''s key contributions in the areas of ethics, politics, and the law. The most comprehensive collection on Hegel''s Philosophy of Right available Features new essays by leading international Hegel interpreters divided in sections of ethics, politics, and law Presents significant new research on Hegel''s Philosophy of Right that will set a new standard for future work on the topic Trade Review“The essays are refreshingly free of complex jargon and, taken together, offer a good sampling of recent work in Hegelian moral and political philosophy. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty; general readers.” (Choice, 1 October 2012)Table of ContentsNotes on Contributors vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Thom Brooks Part I Ethics 7 1 Consequentialism and Deontology in the Philosophy of Right 9 Dean Moyar 2 The Empty Formalism Objection Revisited: x135R and Recent Kantian Responses 43 Fabian Freyenhagen 3 On Hegel's Critique of Kant's Ethics: Beyond the Empty Formalism Objection 73 Robert Stern Part II Politics 101 4 Hegel and the Unified Theory of Punishment 103 Thom Brooks 5 Hard Work: Hegel and the Meaning of the State in his Philosophy of Right 124 Kimberly Hutchings 6 Gender, the Family, and the Organic State in Hegel's Political Thought 143 Alison Stone Part III Law 165 7 Natural Law Internalism 167 Thom Brooks 8 Hegel on the Relation between Law and Justice 180 Alan Brudner Index 209

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Book SynopsisIn studying this phenomenon, Deslippe deepens our understanding of American democracy and neoconservatism in the late twentieth century and shows how the liberals' often contradictory positions of the 1960s and 1970s reflect the conflicted views about affirmative action many Americans still hold today.Trade ReviewA welcome examination of affirmative action opposition in the often-overlooked period before Bakke. Choice Deslippe's treatment of labor's resistance in particular is balanced, detailed, and nuanced, and he includes an excellent chapter on the precursor of Bakke, DeFunis v. Odegaard (1974)... A valuable discussion that clearly adds to the scholarship on this crucial subject. -- Kevin Yuill Journal of American History Ambitious and timely... The detail Deslippe provides in the creation of a 'reverse populism' that, in effect, made past discrimination into a union principle, is very powerful. -- Bill Barry Labor Studies Journal It is difficult to think of a more timely historical topic: persistent ambivalence about affirmative action again collides with an economic downturn as an increasingly conservative Supreme Court considers landmark cases that may resolve some legal questions but are unlikely to end the almost half-century-old moral and political debate. -- Serena Mayeri Journal of American Studies The detail Deslippe provides in the creation of a "reverse populism" that, in effect, made past discrimination into a union principle, is very powerful. -- Bill Barry Labor Studies Journal In uncovering the murky and complex pre-history of contemporary affirmative action debates, Deslippe shows how changing social and economic circumstances shaped diverse understandings of the meaning of race, sex, opportunity, and disadvantage. -- Katherine Turk American StudiesTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsList of Acronyms and InitialismsIntroduction1. "The Best 'Affirmative Action Program' Is Creating Jobs for Everyone": Organized Labor Responds to Affirmative Action, 1960–19742. "This Strange Madness": The Origins of Opposition to Higher Education Affirmative Action, 1968–19723. "This Issue Is Getting Hotter": The Struggle over Affirmative Action Policy in the Early 1970s4. "Treat Him as a Decent American!": DeFunis v. Odegaard (1974) and Colorblindness in the Courtroom5. "Do Whites Have Rights?": White Detroit Policemen and the "Reverse Discrimination" Protests of the 1970s6. "The Fight for True Nondiscrimination": The Politics of Anti–Affirmative Action in the 1970sConclusionNotesEssay on SourcesIndex

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Book SynopsisSynnottJeffrey A. TurnerErica WhittingtonJoy Ann Williamson-LottTrade ReviewThis collection makes a strong contribution to the prevailing conversation about student activism with its less-told, and often surprising, narratives from the South. -- John Blythe North Carolina Historical Review An excellent starting point for anyone wanting to understand the protests of the 1960s... Essential. Choice This quality volume is an excellent foundation for scholars eager to further complicate our understanding of 1960s activism nationally. -- Benjamin Houston Journal of American History This fine volume on southern student activism in the 1960s offers a timely reminder -- several actually -- of a troubled and not so distant past... An impressive range of well-argued, fresh contributions. -- Charles J. Holden Journal of Southern History Taken together, this collection of taut, well-organized essays reveals the contest that the decade of the 1960s was, and its memory remains... This well-balanced collection should contribute in important ways to ongoing efforts to bring greater nuance to narratives of the 1960s, the South, and the nation as a whole. -- David Taft Terry HistoryTable of ContentsForeword. Deep South Campus Memories and the World the Sixties MadeOrigins and Acknowledgments Introduction. Prophetic Minority versus Recalcitrant Majority: Southern Student Dissent and the Struggle for Progressive Change in the 1960sPart I: Early Days: From Talk to ActionChapter 1. Freedom Now! SNCC Galvanizes the New Left Chapter 2. Student Free Speech on Both Sides of the Color Line in Mississippi and the Carolinas Chapter 3. Interracial Dialogue and the Southern Student Human Relations Project Chapter 4. Moderate White Activists and the Struggle for Racial Equality on South Carolina Campuses Part II: Campus Activism Takes ShapeChapter 5. The Rise of Black and White Student Protest in NashvilleChapter 6. Student Radicalism and the Antiwar Movement at the University of Alabama Chapter 7. Conservative Student Activism at the University of Georgia Part III: A Cultural Revolution and Its DiscontentsChapter 8. Sexual Liberation at the University of North Carolina Chapter 9. The Counterculture as Local Culture in Columbia, South Carolina Chapter 10. Government Repression of the Southern New LeftPart IV: Black Power and the Legacy of the Freedom MovementChapter 11. North Carolina A&T Black Power Activists and the Student Organization for Black Unity Chapter 12. Black Power and the Freedom Movement in Retrospect Historiographical Reflections Afterword List of ContributorsIndex

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Book SynopsisRenowned artist Ai Weiwei engaged nearly 900,000 visitors in a conversation about human rights with his art installation @Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz. In one participatory piece, Yours Truly, visitors sent 92,829 postcards to prisoners of conscience around the world. This book delves into those postcards'' lasting impact. Five former prisoners and their loved ones reflect on the experience of receiving hundreds of postcards while imprisoned. Essays and a statement by Ai Weiwei contextualize this extraordinary project. And photographs taken during the exhibition show visitors and the messages they wrote. The book also includes four pre-addressed, tear-out postcards, inviting readers—whether art lovers or activists—to send hope to individuals still imprisoned for defending human rights.Trade Review"The publication provides insightful and emotive essays by the artist and by Amnesty International USA, whilst revealing the experiences of five prisoners through their interviews, letters and biographies." -- Aesthetica"A book that forms part of an exhibition by artist and activist Ai Weiwei, Yours Truly is made up of postcards that visitors to his exhibition wrote to "prisoners of conscience" around the world. The result is a moving and interesting collection of letters and photos that will have you picking it up over and over again." -- Esquire

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Book SynopsisSurprisingly, kids were some of the key instigators in the Civil Rights Movement, like Barbara Johns, who held a rally in her elementary school gym that eventually led to the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court school desegregation decision, and six-year-old Ruby Bridges, who was the first black student to desegregate elementary schools in New Orleans. In The Civil Rights Movement for Kids, children will discover how students and religious leaders worked together to demand the protection of civil rights for black Americans. They will relive the fear and uncertainty of Freedom Summer and learn how northern white college students helped bring national attention to atrocities committed in the name of segregation, and they’ll be inspired by the speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers, and Malcolm X. Activities include: reenacting a lunch counter sit-in; organizing a workshop on nonviolence; holding a freedom film festival followed by a discussion; and organizing a choral group to sing the songs that motivated the foot soldiers in this war for rights.Trade Review"Pertinent, refreshing, and a true pleasure to read. It is wonderful to see such a comprehensive guide to civil rights education for young people. I am gratified to know that such a meaningful and intensive way to study these important issues is available to families." --Kweisi Mfume, president, NAACP"This is a much-needed work that should be in every school and public library, as well as in the home. It is imperative that our youth of today know the history of those who made civil rights their life work and, more importantly, those whose lives were sacrificed so all of mankind could someday enjoy 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness . . .' for which this country stands." --Myrlie Evers-Williams, Chairman Emeritus, NAACP

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Book SynopsisIn Human Rights and Development, award-winning author Peter Uvin extends the examination of development aid and human rights violations that he presented in his book on the Rwandan genocide, Aiding Violence. Whereas that book is diagnostic, Human Rights and Development is prescriptive - a response to requests from development and human rights organizations to help them effect strategies for reducing conflict and improving human rights outcomes. By advocating a rights-based approach to development, Uvin shows how practitioners can surmount the tough ethical and human rights obstacles encountered in their endeavors. But Human Rights and Development is much more than a ""how to"" book for practitioners. It is also a major scholar's profound, passionate, and clearly written analysis of the need to effect principled social change throughout the global arena that solidifies rather than fragments our common humanity.Table of ContentsAcknowledgments/Abbreviations and Acronyms; Introduction 1; Part I: Some Debates Of Relevance To The Development Practitioner; Chapter 1 Background; The Big Picture; The Human Rights Debates; Chapter 2 The Legal Challenges; The Charge of Eurocentrism; The Contested Nature of Second- and Third-Generation Rights; Part I: Human Rights In The Practice Of Development; Chapter 3 The Basics; Rhetorical Incorporation; Chapter 4 Political Conditionality; History of Conditionality; Difficulties; Beyond Aid Conditionality; Conclusion; Chapter 5 Positive Support; The Practice of Positive Support; The Tools of Positive Support; Does Positive Support - If Not All Aid - Undermine Governance by Definition?; Conclusion; Post-Script: The Issue of Coherence; Chapter 6 A Rights-Based Approach to Development; Vision; Process; Some Practical Implications of a Rights-Based Approach to Development; Conclusion; Chapter 7 Final Synthesis and Questions; A Synthesis of the Arguments; A Step Back: Big Trends and Questions; Choices Among Rights; A Fear: Is This Agenda Too Interventionist?; Notes / Bibliography / Index

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Book SynopsisAung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Prize Laureate, mother of two, and devout Buddhist, is one of the most inspiring examples of spiritually infused politics and fearless leadership that the world has ever seen. Daughter of the martyred Burmese national hero who negotiated Burma's independence from Britain in the 1940s, Aung San Suu Kyi led the pro-democracy movement in Burma in 1988. The movement was quickly and brutally crushed by the military junta, and Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest.The Voice of Hope is a rare and intimate journey to the heart of her struggle. Over a period of nine months, Alan Clements, the first American ordained as a Buddhist monk in Burma, met with Aung San Suu Kyi shortly after her release from her first house arrest in July 1995. With her trademark ability to speak directly and compellingly, she presents here her vision of engaged compassion and describes how she has managed to sustain her hope and optimism.

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Book SynopsisSince the end of the Cold War, the idea of human rights has been made into a justification for intervention by the world's leading economic and military powers - above all, the United States. The criteria for such intervention have become more arbitrary and self-serving, and their form more destructive, from Yugoslavia to Afghanistan to Iraq. Until the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the large parts of the left was often complicit in this ideology of intervention - discovering new "Hitlers" as the need arose, and denouncing antiwar arguments as appeasement on the model of Munich in 1938. Jean Bricmont's "Humanitarian Imperialism" is both a historical account of this development and a powerful political and moral critique. It seeks to restore the critique of imperialism to its rightful place in the defense of human rights. It describes the leading role of the United States in initiating military and other interventions, but also on the obvious support given to it by European powers and NATO. It outlines an alternative approach to the question of human rights, based on the genuine recognition of the equal rights of people in poor and wealthy countries. Timely, topical, and rigorously argued, Jean Bricmont's book establishes a firm basis for resistance to global war with no end in sight.

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Book SynopsisAn NPR Best Book of 2018A 2021 Alabama Library Association Author Award WinnerFrye Gaillard has given us a deeply personal history, bringing his keen storyteller’s eye to this pivotal time in American life. He explores the competing story arcs of tragedy and hope through the political and social movements of the times — civil rights, black power, women’s liberation, the War in Vietnam, and the protests against it. But he also examines the cultural manifestations of change — music, literature, art, religion, and science — and so we meet not only the Brothers Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X, but also Gloria Steinem, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Harper Lee, Mister Rogers, Rachel Carson, James Baldwin, Andy Warhol, Billy Graham, Thomas Merton, George Wallace, Richard Nixon, Angela Davis, Barry Goldwater, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and the Berrigan Brothers.""There are many different ways to remember the sixties,"" Gaillard writes, ""and this is mine. There was in these years the sense of a steady unfolding of time, as if history were on a forced march, and the changes spread to every corner of our lives. As future generations debate the meaning of the decade, I hope to offer a sense of how it felt to have lived it. A Hard Rain is one writer’s reconstruction and remembrance of a transcendent era — one that, for better or worse, lives with us still.

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Book SynopsisIn this new century, born in hope but soon thereafter cloaked in terror, many see religion and politics as a volatile, if not deadly, mixture. For All Peoples and All Nations uncovers a remarkable time when that was not so; when together, those two entities gave rise to a new ideal: universal human rights. John Nurser has given life to a history almost sadly forgotten, and introduces the reader to the brilliant and heroic people of many faiths who, out of the aftermath of World War II and in the face of cynicism, dismissive animosity, and even ridicule, forged one of the world's most important secular documents, the United Nations's Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These courageous, persistent, visionary individuals—notable among them an American Lutheran Seminary professor from Philadelphia, O. Frederick Nolde—created the Commission on Human Rights. Eventually headed by one of the world's greatest humanitarians, Eleanor Roosevelt, the Universal Declaration has become the touchstone for political legitimacy. As David Little says in the foreword to this remarkable chronicle, "Both because of the large gap it fills in the story of the founding of the United Nations and the events surrounding the adoption of human rights, and because of the wider message it conveys about religion and peacebuilding, For All Peoples and All Nations is an immensely important contribution. We are all mightily in John Nurser's debt." If religion and politics could once find common ground in the interest of our shared humanity, there is hope that it may yet be found again.Trade ReviewFor All Peoples and All Nations succeeds admirably in its main objective to fill a gap in the historical record about the important role of the ecumenical movement in advancing the UN, shaping its Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and authoring its protection of religious liberty. Given the current dominance of conservative religious influence within American politics, in interpreting international affairs, and in perceptions of the United Nations, Nurser reminds us of a time when progressive Christianity's leadership made a global impact and helped give the United Nations its 'soul' in human rights. * Peace & Change: A Journal of Peace Research *John Nurser has put us in an incalculable debt with this book, which is a straightforward but detailed history of how in the post-1945 world human rights actually came to be enshrined both in the structure of the United Nations and in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. * Gospel and Our Culture Newsletter *Table of ContentsForewordDavid Little PrefaceAcknowledgmentsArchives and Abbreviations Introduction: Revisiting a Myth PART ONE 1. The Idea: To Universalize "Christendom" 2. The Man: Fred Nolde PART TWO 3. To Write a Just and Durable Peace 4. Mobilizing Christian Forces 5. The Joint Committee on Religious Liberty 6. Preparing for San Francisco 7. The Charter of the United Nations Organization 8. An Ecumenical Instrument 9. Finding a Text 10. Declaring Human Rights 11. Conclusion: Faith and Human Rights Need Each Other APPENDIXES A Extracts from the Report of the WCC-in-Formation Conference "The Churches and the International Crisis" B Extracts from A Message from the National Study Conference on the Churches and a Just and Durable Peace C Extract from the Minutes of the First Full Meeting of the Joint Committee on Religious Liberty D The "Six Pillars of Peace" E Statement on Religious Liberty F Statement on Religious Liberty, Memorandum No. 2 G Extracts from the Report of Commission II, "The Peace Strategy of the Churches" H Letter on Human Rights in the Charter of the United Nations I Extracts from Concluding Remarks of J.H. Oldham and John Foster Dulles at the Final Session of the Girton College Conference J Letter from O. Frederick Nolde to Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt K Extract from the Report of the Drafting Committee to the Commission on Human Rights L Extracts from the Declaration on Religious Liberty M Extracts from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights BibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisThere is, literally, a world of difference between the statements "Everyone should have adequate food," and "Everyone has the right to adequate food." In George Kent's view, the lofty rhetoric of the first statement will not be fulfilled until we take the second statement seriously. Kent sees hunger as a deeply political problem. Too many people do not have adequate control over local resources and cannot create the circumstances that would allow them to do meaningful, productive work and provide for themselves. The human right to an adequate livelihood, including the human right to adequate food, needs to be implemented worldwide in a systematic way. Freedom from Want makes it clear that feeding people will not solve the problem of hunger, for feeding programs can only be a short-term treatment of a symptom, not a cure. The real solution lies in empowering the poor. Governments, in particular, must ensure that their people face enabling conditions that allow citizens to provide for themselves. In a wider sense, Kent brings an understanding of human rights as a universal system, applicable to all nations on a global scale. If, as Kent argues, everyone has a human right to adequate food, it follows that those who can empower the poor have a duty to see that right implemented, and the obligation to be held morally and legally accountable, for seeing that that right is realized for everyone, everywhere.Trade Review"As a legal claim, the 'human right to adequate food' may seem thin gruel, but George Kent enriches the concept with data-based policy analysis, compelling ethical arguments, and a full review of concerned international, national, and nongovernmental organizations. He persuasively makes the case for accountability where the face of famine, malnutrition, and starvation confront the hands of those who hold political power at every level in our new global economy." -- Richard Pierre Claude, founding editor of Human Rights Quarterly and professor emeritus, University of MarylandTable of ContentsList of Tables and Figures Foreword by Jean Ziegler Acknowledgments Introduction: Taking Rights Seriously Part I. Foundations Chapter 1. Food and Nutrition Malnutrition Causes of Malnutrition Growth Measurement Numbers of Malnourished People Malnutrition and Mortality Comparative Morality Food and Nutrition Security Varieties of Government Action Chapter 2. The International Human Rights System Historical Foundations International Humanitarian Law The International Bill of Human Rights Children's Rights Regional Human Rights Agreements Human Rights Agencies United Nations Charter Bodies United Nations Treaty Bodies Civil Society Organizations Informal Civil Society Chapter 3. Adequate Food is a Human Right Economic, Social, and Cultural RightsFood in International Human Rights Law Food in International Humanitarian Law Global Declarations and Commitments General Comment 12The Special RapporteurThe Voluntary Guidelines Part II. Human Rights Systems Chapter 4. Human Rights, Governance, and Law Human Rights and Governance Studying Human Rights in National Governance The Role of National LawUniversal Human Rights and the Role of International Law Chapter 5. Rights/Entitlements DefinitionMoral versus Legal RightsSoft versus Hard RightsRights as Goals Rights Imply EntitlementsDetermining Local EntitlementsHaving versus Realizing Rights Chapter 6. Obligations and Commitments Moral Responsibilities When Do Governments Do Human Rights Work? Levels of Government ObligationEconomic Rights The Obligation of Good Governance Obligations of Nonstate Actors Questionable Charity Chapter 7. Accountability MechanismsVarieties of Accountability Justiciability Remedies for Rights Holders National and Local Human Rights AgenciesAccountability through Public Action Chapter 8. India The Supreme Court Case Starvation is Not the Problem The Missing Piece in India's Rights SystemThe Tamil Nadu Integrated Nutrition Project Chapter 9. Brazil Chapter 10. The United States Chapter 11. Feeding InfantsBreast-Feeding RightsInfants' Human Right to Adequate Food Principles Women's Right to Breast-Feed versus Infants' Right to be Breast-Fed Chapter 12. Feeding Infants of HIV-Positive Mothers Official Guidance on HIV/AIDS and Infant Feeding Issues A Court Case Informed Choice Principles Chapter 13. Water The Household Water Problem Water Rights are DifferentGeneral Comment 15 Chapter 14. TradeIssues The Human Right to Adequate Food in Relation to Trade Reconciling Different Frameworks Food Sovereignty Chapter 15. RefugeesIssues in Refugee NutritionExplanations and Justifications for Uneven ServicesThe Human Right to Adequate FoodThe Adequacy QuestionSpecifying the ObligationsLimiting the ObligationsThe Work Ahead Chapter 16. International Humanitarian AssistanceIssuesRights to AssistanceThe Provider's Motivation Implementation Chapter 17. Global Human RightsGlobal Rights and Global ObligationsGlobal Accountability Strategic Planning Sources ReferencesIndex

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Book SynopsisThe UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has instructed all UN specialized agencies and other affiliated organizations to consider how their work might advance the cause of human rights around the world. Many of these bodies have taken this call to heart, with a wide range of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) trying to play a more active role in promoting human welfare. "Power and Principle" is a comparative study of how and why IGOs integrate human rights standards into their development operations. It focuses on the process of policy innovation in three UN-related IGOs: the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF,) the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO). In his comprehensive analysis, Joel E. Oestreich uses case studies to demonstrate how their policies have evolved during the past two decades to reflect important human rights considerations. Drawing on interviews with dozens of staffers from IGOs, Oestreich creates a gripping narrative of the inner workings of these large bureaucracies. In each study he describes how the organization first became interested in human rights standards, how these standards were adopted as a priority, how the organization defined rights in the context of their work, and what a rights-based approach has meant in practice. The book argues that IGOs ought to be seen as capable of meaningful agency in international politics, and describes the nature of that agency. It concludes with an examination of these organizations and their ethical responsibilities as actors on the world stage.Trade Review"In Power and Principle, Joel Oestreich tackles an important aspect of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs)---how and why international organizations take up 'principled ideas'---that has not been given sufficient attention in the field of international organizations, providing a rich and detailed analysis of the different forces at work inside and out of today's IGOs. Clear, concise and thoughtful, anyone interested in the changing role and agency of international organizations in contemporary international relations should have this book." --James P. Muldoon, Jr., Senior Fellow, Division of Global Affairs, Rutgers-Newark "Joel Oestreich asks us to think about why and how actors in international organizations sometimes swim against the tide to embed principled ideas in their work. This thought-provoking book shows why neither this process nor its inherent merit can be taken for granted. A must read for students of human rights and of international organizations." --R. Charli Carpenter, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh "Power and Principle sets high standards for clarity, effective organization, and graceful writing. Oestreich very ably scrutinizes policy formation within UNESCO, the World Health Organization, and the World Bank showing the independence of international organizations in pursuing a human rights agenda." --Richard Pierre Claude, founding editor, Human Rights QuarterlyTable of Contents1. Agency and Intergovernmental Organizations 2. UNICEF, Human Rights, and Children 3. The World Bank: Pushing at the Boundaries of "Economic" 4. The World Health Organization: A Case of Incomplete Development 5. What Do Intergovernmental Organizations Want? 6. The Ethical Responsibilities of Intergovernmental Organizations NotesReferencesIndex

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Book SynopsisIn the mid-1990s, when the United Nations adopted positions affirming a woman's right to be free from bodily harm and to control her own reproductive health, it was both a coup for the international women's rights movement and an instructive moment for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) seeking to influence UN decision making. Prior to the UN General Assembly's 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women and the 1994 decision by the UN's Conference on Population and Development to vault women's reproductive rights and health to the forefront of its global population growth management program, there was little consensus among governments as to what constituted violence against women and how much control a woman should have over reproduction. Jutta Joachim tells the story of how, in the years leading up to these decisions, women's organizations got savvy—framing the issues strategically, seizing political opportunities in the international environment, and taking advantage of mobilizing structures—and overcame the cultural opposition of many UN-member states to broadly define the two issues and ultimately cement women's rights as an international cause. Joachim's deft examination of the documents, proceedings, and actions of the UN and women's advocacy NGOs—supplemented by interviews with key players from concerned parties, and her own participant-observation—reveals flaws in state-centered international relations theories as applied to UN policy, details the tactics and methods that NGOs can employ in order to push rights issues onto the UN agenda, and offers insights into the factors that affect NGO influence. In so doing, Agenda Setting, the UN, and NGOs departs from conventional international relations theory by drawing on social movement literature to illustrate how rights groups can motivate change at the international level.Trade Review"Expertly drawing from organizational theory and the literature on social movements, Joachim demonstrates the interplay between struggles among NGOs to define the principles that will hopefully become part of new global agendas, the institutional context that favors some NGOs and their principles over others, and the critical role of creative entrepreneurs who not only seize new opportunities and forge strategic alliances, but also, at times, make their own opportunities. A highly readable book that is warmly recommended." --Michael Barnett, Stassen Chair of International Affairs, University of Minnesota "This study significantly expands our understanding of a complex and vital topic--how various NGOs have successfully mobilized to pressure the UN to take [on] crucial initiatives affecting women's rights and women's welfare. Readers with interests in international institutions and women's studies will find this original and important assessment of particular value." --Ann Elizabeth Mayer, associate professor of legal studies, The Wharton School "Combining fluid historical detail with thoughtful theorizing, Jutta Joachim illuminates the conditions under which NGOs can shape the global agenda, frame issues successfully, and stimulate state action. Read this book for its highly informative analysis of the international women's movement--and for the larger lessons it offers about NGO effectiveness in the global arena." --John Boli, professor of sociology, Emory University "An innovative contribution to the burgeoning literature on NGOs and social movements. Joachim tells a fascinating story of how NGOs shaped two critical issues of our time and how the United Nations responded." --Karen A. Mingst, University of KentuckyTable of ContentsPreface Introduction: From the Margins to the Center—Women's Rights, NGOs, and the United Nations 1. NGOs and UN Agenda-Setting: Political Opportunities, Mobilizing Structures, and Framing Strategies 2. Rallying for Peace and Equal Nationality Rights: Women's Organizations between 1915 and 1945 3. Equality, Development and Peace: The UN Decade for Women, 1975-1985 4. Women's Rights as Human Rights: The Case of Violence against Women 5. Reproductive Rights and Health: Women's Organizations and the Population Establishment 6. NGOs and International Organizations Appendix: UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisPromoting Islam as a defender of human rights is laden with difficulties. Advocates of human rights will readily point out numerous humanitarian failures carried out in the name of Islam. In "The Rights of God", Irene Oh looks at human rights and Islam as a religious issue rather than a political or legal one and draws on three revered Islamic scholars to offer a broad range of perspectives that challenge our assumptions about the role of religion in human rights. The theoretical shift from the conception of morality based in natural duty and law to one of rights has created tensions that hinder a fruitful exchange between human rights theorists and religious thinkers. Does the static identification of human rights with lists of specific rights, such as those found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, make sense given the cultural, historical, and religious diversity of the societies in which these rights are to be respected and implemented? In examining human rights issues of the contemporary Islamic world, Oh illustrates how the value of religious scholarship cannot be overestimated. Oh analyzes the commentaries of Abul A'la Maududi, Sayyid Qutb, and Abdolkarim Soroush - all prominent and often controversial Islamic thinkers - on the topics of political participation, religious toleration, and freedom of conscience. While Maududi and Qutb represent traditional Islam, and Soroush a more reform and Western-friendly approach, all three contend that Islam is indeed capable of accommodating and advocating human rights. Whereas disentangling politics and culture from religion is never easy, Oh shows that the attempt must be made in order to understand and overcome the historical obstacles that prevent genuine dialogue from taking place across religious and cultural boundaries.Trade Review"An important addition to the literature on comparative religious ethics and on Islam and human rights." --Sohail Hashmi, Mount Holyoke CollegeTable of ContentsIntroduction: Defining Dialogue 1 Conversations about Human Rights and Islam 2 Maududi, Qutb, and Soroush: Humanity and History 3 Envisioning Islamic Democracies 4 The Free Conscience: "No Compulsion in Religion" 5 Toleration ... and Its Limits Conclusion: Advancing Human Rights Dialogue Notes Glossary of Foreign Words and Phrases Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisAn English court in 1736 described rape as an accusation “easily to be made and hard to be proved, and harder to be defended by the party accused, though never so innocent. ”To prove the crime, the law required a woman to physically resist, to put up a “hue and cry,” as evidence of her unwillingness. Beginning in the 1970s, however, feminist and victim-advocacy groups began changing attitudes toward rape so the crime is now seen as violent in itself: the legal definition of rape now includes everything from the sadistic serial rapist to the eighteen-year-old who has consensual sex with a fourteen-year-old.This inclusiveness means there are now more rapists among us. And more of rape’s camp followers: the prison-makers, the community watchdogs, law-and-order politicians, and the real-crime/real-time entertainment industry. Vanessa Place examines the ambiguity of rape law by presenting cases where guilt lies, but lies uneasily, and leads into larger ethical questions of what defines guilt, what is justice, and what is considered just punishment. Assuming a society can and must be judged by the way it treats its most despicable members, The Guilt Project looks at the way the American legal system defines, prosecutes, and punishes sex offenders, how this Dateline NBC justice has transformed our conception of who is guilty and how they ought to be treated, and how this has come to undo our deeper humanity

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Book SynopsisIn A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, John W. Whitehead charts America's transition from a society governed by "we the people" to a police state governed by the strong arm of the law. In such an environment, the law becomes yet another tool to oppress the people. As a constitutional attorney of national prominence, and as president of The Rutherford Institute, an international civil liberties organization, Whitehead has been at the forefront of the fight for civil liberties in this country. The recurring theme at the heart of A Government of Wolves is that the American people are in grave danger of losing their basic freedoms. The simple fact is that the Constitution - and in particular the Bill of Rights - is being undermined on virtually every front. Indeed, everything America was founded upon is in some way being challenged. The openness and freedom that were once the hallmarks of our society are now in peril. We were once a society that valued individual liberty and privacy. But in recent years we have turned into a culture that has quietly accepted surveillance cameras, police and drug-sniffing dogs in our children's schools, national databases that track our finances and activities, sneak-and-peek searches of our homes without our knowledge or consent, and anti-terrorism laws that turn average Americans into suspects. In short, America has become a lockdown nation, and we are all in danger. A Government of Wolves not only explains these acute problems but is a call to action offering timely and practical initiatives for Americans to take charge of present course of history and stop the growing police state. But time is running out. We are at critical juncture and every citizen who values his or her personal freedom needs to pay close attention to the message in this book!Trade ReviewJohn Whitehead is one of the most eloquent and knowledgeable defenders of liberty, and opponents of the growing American police state, writing today. I am pleased to recommend A Government of Wolves to anyone interested in learning how modern America increasingly resembles a dystopian science fiction film instead of a Constitutional Republic. -- Ron Paul, 12-term US Congressman and former Presidential candidateThe loss of liberty doesn't begin with invading armies, but with creeping government that slowly and almost imperceptibly invades our privacy with cameras, drones, wiretaps and monitoring of email communication. We are told this is for our own good. In this book, John Whitehead sounds a warning about overreaching government we had better heed before the point of no return has been reached. -- Cal Thomas, Syndicated and USA Today Columnist/Fox News ContributorI was privileged to have Duke Ellington as a mentor, who said of the jazz that was unsuccessfully banned in their countries by Stalin and Hitler: The music is so free that many people say it is the only unhampered expression of complete freedom yet produced in this country. But only a basically free country could have produced back then such freedom of expression that has become so energizing a global presence. If we are to be again this free a nation, John Whitehead will have had a lot to do with our being able to swing again. -- Nat Hentoff, American historian and nationally syndicated columnist? Where is Thomas Paine now that we need him? He's here just in the nick of time in the person of John Whitehead, an uncompromising debunker of lies, rhetoric mongers, rights-shredders and the criminal acts of our shameless, double-crossing government. Drop everything and read A Government of Wolves before it's too late! I loved and was horrified by this disturbing and courageous book! -- David Dalton, New York Times bestselling author and a founding editor of Rolling Stone MagazineA masterfully documented chronicle of frightened citizen vassalage to a Leviathan state in a hopes of a risk-free existence. An end to liberty is at hand. -- Bruce Fein, associate deputy attorney general under President Reagan and author of American Empire Before The Fall

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Book SynopsisTime's Language contains powerful poems of witness as well as personal poems, and autobiographical prose pieces (that read like prose poems), recounting a life of resistance, the life of a life-long literary and political revolutionary. As US Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera writes, "Here are Margaret Randall’s decades of love, ink, tears, contestation and light—let us bow in gratitude for this truth-telling, daring, border-breaking, pioneering long-time volume of soul fire.Trade Review“Margaret Randall's name rolls off the tongue as our champion citizen of the imagination. The United States government deported her for her brilliant, outlaw poems. This beautiful book contains sixty extraordinary years of verse! Every library worthy of its readers and of protecting the canon of courageous, resilient poets needs this book!” - C. A. Conrad, author of ECODEVIANCE: (Soma)tics for the Future Wilderness “Margaret Randall's work is a gift of charmed vision. Language-Magic in conference with the kicks of social/personal realism. She sings of the pan-experience of human consciousness, profoundly female, resonant and elegant in her essence-statement, “Everyone is born a poet.” All in dignity to the marginalized spirit-lives of the misbegotten where the poet-activist shares love and anger, education and intellect, protest and mercy—and everyone's right to rise above their station.” - Thurston Moore, author of No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York. 1976-1980.“It is an honor to read this collection of poems, that at times appears as a revolutionary's journal, a lover's secret notes, a mother's many lives and a seer's grasp of that which cannot be named—this life of incredible being in battle against non-being. We are given many clues on the road to the ‘homeland,' which we all seek. It is made of “pieces,” “wicked stints”, darknesses and liberations, gifts, searches, that is, an ever-expanding consciousness, examination and explosion into and out of our body as we leap toward the heart of the people. Here are Margaret Randall's decades of love, ink, tears, contestation and light—let us bow in gratitude for this truth-telling, daring, border-breaking, pioneering long-time volume of soul fire.” - Juan Felipe Herrera Poet Laureate of the United States 2015-2017“Margaret Randall, poet, translator, activist, is our conscience, a force of nature, a national treasure who has never faltered in her poetic or humanitarian imagination. She embodies the call of poetry to help wake the world up to itself. Her many worlds in poetry selected here are by turns tender, passionate, fierce, and her gleanings from an extraordinary life are more instructive than ever. Time's Language is a salve for these dystopic times, a generous antidote for the turmoil. Every letter counts.” - Anne Waldman, author of The Iovis Trilogy: Colors in the Mechanism of Concealment, Chancellor of The Academy of American Poets“Margaret Randall is a formidable woman and an inspiration. Her words contain ages of experience and beauty and wisdom. She's of the Earth and a warrior for the future. Hear her poetry and know why birds sing and humanity will fulfill its promises.” - Gioconda Belli, author of Infinity in the Palm of Her Hand

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Book SynopsisBCALA Literary Award WinnerFinalist for the Hurston/Wright Legacy AwardThe intimate and heartbreaking story of a Black undercover police officer who famously kneeled by the assassinated Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr?and a daughter?s quest for the truth about her fatherIn the famous photograph of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on the balcony of Memphis?s Lorraine Motel, one man kneeled down beside King, trying to staunch the blood from his fatal head wound with a borrowed towel.This kneeling man was a member of the Invaders, an activist group that was in talks with King in the days leading up to the murder. But he also had another identity: an undercover Memphis police officer reporting on the activities of this group, which was thought to be possibly dangerous and potentially violent. This kneeling man is Leta McCollough Seletzky?s father.Marrell McCollough was a Black man working secretly with the white power structure, a spy. This was so far from her understanding of what it meant to be Black in America, of everything she eventually devoted her life and career to, that she set out to learn what she could about his life, his actions and motivations. But with that decision came risk. What would she uncover about her father, who went on to a career at the CIA, and did she want to bear the weight of knowing?

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