A world divided: the global struggle for human rights in the age of nation-states

Once dominated by vast empires, the world is now divided into close to 200 independent countries with laws and constitutions proclaiming human rights—a transformation that suggests that nations and human rights inevitably developed together. But the reality is far more problematic, as Eric Weitz sho...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Weitz, Eric D. (Author)
Format: Print Book
Language:English
Published: Princeton Oxford Princeton University Press [2019]
In:Year: 2019
Online Access: Inhaltsverzeichnis (Aggregator)
Availability in Tübingen:Present in Tübingen.
UB: KB 21 A 875
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Related Items:Erscheint auch als: 1681470241
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Summary:Once dominated by vast empires, the world is now divided into close to 200 independent countries with laws and constitutions proclaiming human rights—a transformation that suggests that nations and human rights inevitably developed together. But the reality is far more problematic, as Eric Weitz shows in this compelling global history of the fate of human rights in a world of nation-states. Through vivid histories drawn from virtually every continent, A World Divided describes how, since the eighteenth century, nationalists have struggled to establish their own states that grant human rights to some people. At the same time, they have excluded others through forced assimilation, ethnic cleansing, or even genocide. From Greek rebels, American settlers, and Brazilian abolitionists in the nineteenth century to anticolonial Africans and Zionists in the twentieth, nationalists have confronted a crucial question: Who has the “right to have rights?” A World Divided tells these stories in colorful accounts focusing on people who were at the center of events. And it shows that rights are dynamic. Proclaimed originally for propertied white men, rights were quickly demanded by others, including women, American Indians, and black slaves. A World Divided also explains the origins of many of today’s crises, from the existence of more than 65 million refugees and migrants worldwide to the growth of right-wing nationalism. The book argues that only the continual advance of international human rights will move us beyond the quandary of a world divided between those who have rights and those who don’t.
Empires and rulers, the eighteenth century and beyond -- Greece, leaving the empire -- America, Indian removals in the North Country -- Brazil, slavery and emancipation -- Armenians and Jews, the creation of minorities -- Namibia, the rights of whites -- Korea, Colonial legacies and human rights in a divided country --The Soviet Union, Communism and the birth of the modern human rights movement -- Palestine and Israel, trauma and triumph -- Rwanda and Burundi, colonization and the power of race -- Nation-states and human rights, the twenty-first century and beyond.
Item Description:Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 511-520, Register
Physical Description:xx, 550 Seiten, 8 ungezählte Seiten Illustrationen, Karten 24 cm
ISBN:9780691145440