This collection of essays explores the notion, tools and challenges of human rights diplomacy. Human rights diplomacy is understood as the utilisation of diplomatic negotiation and persuasion for the specific purpose of promoting and protecting human rights. This book builds on discussions at a high-level workshop on the topic, organised by the University of Nottingham Human Rights Law Centre, the European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation and the Adam Mickiewicz University of Pozna?, that was held in Venice.

In this insightful analysis of human rights diplomacy Rein Mullerson examines the way foreign policy instruments are used to promote human rights abroad as well as how human rights issues are used for the sake of other foreign policy aims. The book explores the relationship between human rights and international stability, the role of non-governmental organisations, the business community and mass media in formulating human rights agendas for governments and inter-governmental organisations. Also addressed are issues such as the universality of human rights in a multi-cultural world and the impact of religious and nationalistic extremism. Rein Mullerson concludes by looking at the role of the UN and other international bodies engaged in the promotion of human rights and how military force can be an option in settling violations The author argues that it tends to be regimes that are hostile to human rights which in turn cause instability in the international community. Throughout the work it is demonstrated that a concern for human rights is legitimate because of the impact they have on international relations and because of the common bonds that link all people.

Including chapters from some of the leading experts in the field this Handbook provides a full overview of the nature and challenges of modern diplomacy and includes a tour d'horizon of the key ways in which the theory and practice of modern diplomacy are evolving in the 21st Century.

This book explores the transatlantic relationship between the US and Europe from multiple perspectives and disciplines. Since the end of the Cold War, a multi-polar world has replaced the dual power economic and political stranglehold previously shared by the US and Russia. Amid the shift in power politics, the transatlantic partnership between the US and Europe has retained its importance in shaping the outcome of future global developments. With the rise of the US as a major world power and the tremendous economic growths witnessed by countries such as China, India and Brazil, the political power structures within and outside the transatlantic relations have gradually undergone shifts that are important to recognise, understand and critically assess on a consistent basis. Transatlantic Relations and Modern Diplomacy assesses the strengths and weaknesses of this enduring transatlantic relationship from multiple perspectives and disciplines at a time when the US and European countries are facing increasing economic pressures, significant political changes and substantial security concerns. Examining this relationship through a range of different lenses including historical, economic and cultural, this book highlights the importance of examining the transatlantic relationship from a variety of different contextual and historical perspectives in order to herald the future changes as informed global citizens. This book will be of interest to students of transatlantic studies, diplomacy, political science and IR in general.

International Human Rights: Perspectives from Ireland examines Ireland's engagement with, and influence of, the international human rights regime. International human rights norms are increasingly being taken into account by legislators, courts and public bodies in taking decisions and implementing actions that impact on human rights. Featuring chapters by leading Irish and international academic experts, practitioners and advocates, the book combines theoretical as well as practical analysis and integrates perspectives from a broad range of actors in the human rights field.

Through a comparative analysis of Iran under the Shah, Nicaragua under the Somozas and the Philippines under Marcos, Steinmetz evaluates the effectiveness of American priorities in authoritarian states that were perceived to protect U.S. interests.

In Europe and the Americas: Transatlantic Approaches to Human Rights, leading scholars of different disciplines offer new insight into transatlantic approaches to human rights. At a time when global challenges (economic crises, poverty, terrorism, mass migration and climate change) have a profound impact on the universal development of human rights and democracy, a common transatlantic understanding of human rights may prove instrumental in meeting these challenges. Through conceptual discussions, by analysing different human rights topics in different periods and regions (Europe, the United States and Latin America), and by focusing on a diverse range of actors, from policy makers and judicial institutions to academics and civil society, the authors identify key developments of human rights within a transatlantic framework.

This incisive book provides an unparalleled insight into the ways in which international human rights law functions in a real world context across cultural, religious and geopolitical divides. Written by a professor, former ambassador and international judge, the book demonstrates how power, diplomacy, tactics and processes operate within the human rights system from the perspective of a non-Western insider with more than three decades’ experience in the field.

Effective diplomacy remains fundamental to the conduct of international relations in the twenty-first century, as we seek to define and manage a challenging new world order peacefully. New Perspectives on Diplomacy highlights the importance of diplomacy in political and military crises, featuring details of life as a diplomat, the importance of alliance building, managing failure and diplomatic negotiations with armed groups. Using regional case studies from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Russia and Asia, the second volume demonstrates that the importance of diplomacy and diplomats remains undiminished.

International human rights issues perpetually highlight the tension between political interest and idealism. Over the last fifty years, the United States has labored to find an appropriate response to each new human rights crisis, balancing national and global interests as well as political and humanitarian impulses. Human Rights in American Foreign Policy explores America's international human rights policies from the Vietnam War era to the end of the Cold War. Global in scope and ambitious in scale, this book examines American responses to a broad array of human rights violations: torture and political imprisonment in South America; apartheid in South Africa; state violence in China; civil wars in Central America; persecution of Jews in the Soviet Union; movements for democracy and civil liberties in East Asia and Eastern Europe; and revolutionary political transitions in Iran, Nicaragua, and the collapsing USSR. Joe Renouard challenges the characterization of American human rights policymaking as one of inaction, hypocrisy, and double standards. Arguing that a consistent standard is impractical, he explores how policymakers and citizens have weighed the narrow pursuit of traditional national interests with the desire to promote human rights. Human Rights in American Foreign Policy renders coherent a series of disparate foreign policy decisions during a tumultuous time in world history. Ultimately the United States emerges as neither exceptionally compassionate nor unusually wicked. Rather, it is a nation that manages by turns to be cautiously pragmatic, boldly benevolent, and coldly self-interested.