Explores the fluctuating relationship between human rights and humanitarianism and the changing nature of the politics and practices of humanity.

"Examining the relationship between humanitarianism, human rights, and security in the governance of borders and migration, this book analyses the case of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), challenging the common assumption that humanitarianism and human rights provide a critical basis for countering securitization. Arguing that these are not three opposing discourses and modes of governing, the author contributes to a deeper understanding of their connections and combined effects in border governance. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, and document analysis, the book offers three perspectives on Frontex's changing relationship to humanitarianism and human rights. In doing so, it provides a multifaceted account of Frontex and its gradual appropriation of what are often considered pro-migrant discourses. Combining organisational sociology with a Foucauldian analysis, the book speaks to ongoing debates on continuity and change in the security field and provides insights into studying security organisations more generally"--

The Oxford Handbook of the Ends of Empire offers the most comprehensive treatment of the causes, course, and consequences of the collapse of empires in the twentieth century. The volume's contributors convey the global reach of decolonization, analysing the ways in which European, Asian, and African empires disintegrated over the past century.

Disability studies scholars and activists have long criticized and critiqued so-termed ‘charitable’ approaches to disability where the capitalization of individual disabled bodies to invoke pity are historically, socially, and politically circumscribed by paternalism. Disabled individuals have long advocated for civil and human rights in various locations throughout the globe, yet contemporary human rights discourses problematically co-opt disabled bodies as ‘evidence’ of harms done under capitalism, war, and other forms of conflict, while humanitarian non-governmental organizations often use disabled bodies to generate resources for their humanitarian projects. It is the connection between civil rights and human rights, and this concomitant relationship between national and global, which foregrounds this groundbreaking book’s contention that disability studies productively challenge such human rights paradigms, which troublingly eschew disability rights in favor of exclusionary humanitarianism. It relocates disability from the margins to the center of academic and activist debates over the vexed relationship between human rights and humanitarianism. These considerations thus productively destabilize able-bodied assumptions that undergird definitions of personhood in civil rights and human rights by highlighting intersections between disability, race, gender ethnicity, and sexuality as a way to interrogate the possibilities (and limitations) of human rights as a politicized regime.

Since 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—in countries that are vulnerable to their attacks. 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.

This volume introduces law students to the international legal instruments and case law governing the substantive and procedural dimensions of international human rights and humanitarian law, including economic, social, and cultural rights. It also discusses the history and organizational structure of human rights and humanitarian law enforcement mechanisms. Relevant to U.S. audiences, a chapter is devoted to the issues surrounding the incorporation of international law into U.S. law, including principles of constitutional and statutory interpretation, conflict rules, and the self-execution doctrine. Questions & Comments sections provide critical analyses of issues raised in the materials.

How do international human rights and humanitarian law protect vulnerable individuals in times of peace and war? Provost analyses systemic similarities and differences between the two to explore how they are each built to achieve their similar goal. He details the dynamics of human rights and humanitarian law, revealing that each performs a task for which it is better suited than the other, and that the fundamentals of each field remain partly incompatible. This helps us understand why their norms succeed in some ways and fail - at times spectacularly - in others. Provost's study represents innovative and in-depth research, covering all relevant materials from the UN, ICTY, ICTR, and regional organizations in Europe, Africa and Latin America. This will interest academics and graduate students in international law and international relations, as well as legal practitioners in related fields and NGOs active in human rights.

'This volume by Robert Kolb and Gloria Gaggioli, contributed by some of the most renowned experts in the field, devotes an impressive amount of legal analysis to the most diverse aspects of the interplay between international humanitarian law and international human rights law in situations of violence, in theory and practice. It is bound to become an indispensable tool for scholars and practitioners alike.' Marco Pedrazzi, University of Milan, ItalyThis fascinating Handbook explores the interplay between international human rights law and international humanitarian law, offering expert analysis on the increasingly complex issues surrounding their application in conflict areas across the world. Contributors to this volume provide a comprehensive treatment of the ongoing relationship between human rights law and humanitarian law, from the historical background and origins of the two bodies of law to their various applications today. Divided into four parts Historical Background, Common Issues, The Need for a Combined Approach, and Monitoring Mechanisms the Handbook presents a rich and varied spectrum of original research and thought from some of the brightest minds in the field.This groundbreaking volume will surely have great appeal for anyone with a professional or academic interest in human rights law and humanitarian law, from students to professors to practitioners in the field.

Human rights diplomacy provides an up to date and accessible overview of the field, and serves as a practical guide to those seeking to engage in human rights work. Kelly-Kate Pease uses clear language and practical examples to teach readers the difficult skill of systematically looking athuman rights and humanitarian negotiations. After a brief overview of human rights and what is meant by diplomacy, Pease argues that while human rights are internationally recognized, important disagreements exist on definition, priority and implementation. With the help of Human rights diplomacy,these differences can be bridged, and a new generation of human rights professionals will build better relationships.

During the 1990s, humanitarian intervention seemed to promise a world in which democracy, self-determination and human rights would be privileged over national interests or imperial ambitions. Orford provides critical readings of the narratives that accompanied such interventions and shaped legal justifications for the use of force by the international community. Through a close reading of legal texts and institutional practice, she argues that a far more circumscribed, exploitative and conservative interpretation of the ends of intervention was adopted during this period. The book draws on a wide range of sources, including critical legal theory, feminist and postcolonial theory, psychoanalytic theory and critical geography, to develop ways of reading directed at thinking through the cultural and economic effects of militarized humanitarianism. The book concludes by asking what, if anything, has been lost in the move from the era of humanitarian intervention to an international relations dominated by wars on terror.