Human Rights in Another Key

This is a refreshingly original analysis of human rights, past and present, which sets out major new terms of reference for political debate, it will become a standard text in the human rights field. Preface.

1. Human Rights and the Western Tradition.

2. Human Rights and the Legal Tradition.

3. Human Rights and Human Needs.

4. Human Rights and Social Structures.

5. Human Rights and Social Processes.

Notes.

Index.

'This book surely contains enough ideas to challenge, stimulate, provoke and inspire anyone concerned intellectually, practically or professionally with the field of human rights and human needs.' Journal of Peace Research

'The argument is often thought-provoking.' Political Studies

Johan Galtung is internationally renowned in his field and is the author of many books and articles on peace studies including Environment, development and military activity, (Norwegian Universities Press, 1982), Global Militarization (Ed. with Peter Wallensteen and Corlos Portales, Westview Press, 1985) and Europe in the Making (Crane Russak / Taylor and Francis Inc, 1989). In this volume, Johan Galtung, best known through his highly acclaimed work in peace studies, develops a new approach to human rights. His argument is that the human rights tradition offers significant means to reduce violence in the world, although it needs recasting if it is to achieve this objective effectively.

The concept of human rights emerged out of the Western legal tradition and claims to be of universal application. However, the historical and cultural Western imprint on the idea of human rights leads to difficulties, theoretical and political. Galtung assesses these problems and focuses, in particular, on the failure of the legal tradition to take account of problems that are located in the economic and political structures of society and in cultural life more generally. He proposes to remedy these deficiencies by developing an accounting approach to human rights based on human needs, a structural analysis, and a clear examination of diverse social and cultural processes.

The result is a highly original account of human rights and a new approach to this important subject matter. Human Rights in Another Key will become a major reference point in all future discussions about human rights.