Description
Book SynopsisIn a troubled world where millions die at the hands of their own governments and societies, some states risk their citizens'' lives, considerable portions of their national budgets, and repercussions from opposing states to protect helpless foreigners. Dozens of Canadian peacekeepers have died in Afghanistan defending humanitarian reconstruction in a shattered faraway land with no ties to their own. Each year, Sweden contributes over $3 billion to aid the world''s poorest citizens and struggling democracies, asking nothing in return. And, a generation ago, Costa Rica defied U.S. power to broker a peace accord that ended civil wars in three neighboring countries--and has now joined with principled peers like South Africa to support the United Nations'' International Criminal Court, despite U.S. pressure and aid cuts. Hundreds of thousands of refugees are alive today because they have been sheltered by one of these nations. Global Good Samaritans looks at the reasons why and how some st
Trade ReviewClear, cogent, accessible and balanced.... It makes a very significant and positive contribution to debates regarding human rights and the international order. * Human Rights Law Resource Centre Bulletin *
Global Good Samaritans strengthens Alison Brysk's claim to be the most conceptually creative and solidly grounded empirical social scientist writing about human rights. This is a path-breaking book with implications reaching far beyond its focus. It should be read by everyone with a serious interest in foreign policy and international relations. * Richard Falk, Professor Emeritus of International Law, Princeton University *
The study of human rights has for too long focused excessively, almost obsessively, on U.S. foreign policy. Alison Brysk's careful comparative study of some of the 'nice guys' of international human rights policy decisively shifts the focus. For teachers looking for cases to play off against the United States, and citizens interested in thinking about the broader possibilities of international human rights diplomacy, this will be not merely a welcome, but an essential book. * Jack Donnelly, Professor of International Relations, University of Denver *
Alison Brysk's important description of the Good Samaritan state introduces into the debate about the changing global order the reality that it is not just the U.S., Europe and the BRICs who are playing important roles. Smaller states, independent of the size of their armies and their modest economies, have punched well above their weight, introducing important new ideas, standards, practices, institutions and treaties. It is time to pay more attention to the Good Samaritans. * Lloyd Axworthy, Former Foreign Minister of Canada and President of The University of Winnipeg *
This is an excellent book. It deserves a wide readership. ...Brysk is to be congratulated on providing a corrective to the all-too-common realist refrain that ethical foreign policies are not possible. Let us hope that scholars, activists, and policymakers pay attention to its conclusions * Perspectives on Politics *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements ; 1. Introduction: States as Global Citizens ; 2. Why and How They Do it: Reconstructing the National Interest ; 3. The Gold Standard: Sweden ; 4. The Other America: Canada ; 5. The Little Country That Could: Costa Rica ; 6. The Netherlands: Globalization and its Discontents ; 7. Peace Without Justice: Japan ; 8. From Pariah to Promoter: South Africa ; 9. Coalitions of the Caring: Inter-state Networks for Human Rights ; 10. Conclusion: "The World Needs More Canada" ; Bibliography ; Endnotes ; Index
