Human Rights in the Arab World
Anthony Chase and Amr Hamzawy, Editors
336 pages | 6 x 9
Paper 2008 | ISBN 978-0-8122-2032-2 | $27.50s | £18.00 | Add to cart
Ebook 2013 | ISBN 978-0-8122-0884-9 | $27.50s | £18.00 | About | Add to cart
A volume in the Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights series
"Indispensable for understanding both the broad range of those who advocate human rights in the Arab world and the impact they have had. This book is informative, revealing, and comprehensive, and deserves the widest attention."—Rashid Khalidi, Columbia University
"An important contribution to the debate on the relationship between culture and international human rights norms."—International Affairs
"An extremely readable and insightful volume that will surely become essential reading for policy-makers and human rights activists as well as for academics across a range of disciplines."—Lynn Welchman, University of London
"For much too long, the international debates on human rights have been missing the important voices of those in the Arab region. This volume of expert contributions goes a long way towards redressing this balance, informing readers of the complexities and intensities of the political, cultural, and religious debates surrounding the efforts to promote human rights within the region."—Fateh Azzam, The American University of Cairo
"Cultural preconceptions often drive debates about human rights in the Middle East and North Africa. Human Rights in the Arab World takes a substantial step in the opposite direction. Its principal contribution is to undermine the prevailing view that human rights are largely irrelevant in a region deemed sui generis. As such, the book should appeal to a broad audience, including human rights students and regional specialists alike."—Human Rights & Human Welfare
Why have human rights been marginalized in the Arab world? How do we gauge the relevance of human rights in the region, given the political, social, and economic context? What are the practical and theoretical obstacles to the implementation of these rights?
Human Rights in the Arab World: Independent Voices offers perspectives from those at the forefront of research on human rights and Islam, globalization, transnational advocacy, and the politics of key states such as Egypt, Morocco, and Yemen. Some chapters provide essential historical background to current political realities, while others consider ways to confront this region's practical and theoretical challenges to human rights. By placing the question of human rights in the often tragic context of Arab politics, the very real stakes are made clear.
Anthony Chase teaches in the Department of Diplomacy and World Affairs at Occidental College. Amr Hamzawy is Senior Associate at the Democracy and Rule of Law Project, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.