Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Publish Not Punish: The Contested Truth Of The South African Truth And Reconciliation Commission, Todd Landman

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

After the TRC: Reflections on Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa, Wilmot James and Linda van de Vijver, Editors. Athens: Ohio University Press and Cape Town: David Philip Publishers, 2000. 228pp.

and

Looking Back, Reaching Forward: Reflections on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa, Charles Villa-Vicencio and Wilhelm Verwoerd, Editors. Cape Town: University of Cape Town Press and London: Zed Books, 2000. 322pp.

Challenging The Gendered Hegemony Of Space: Acknowledging ‘Difference’ In Development Planning, Laura Hebert

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of Gender, Planning and Human Rights, edited by Tovi Fenster. New York: Routledge, 1999 (International Studies of Women and Place Series). 240pp.

Traditionally, feminist efforts to promote and protect women’s rights as human rights have focused on legalistic strategies, such as advocating for the inclusion of gender-specific concerns in international human rights conventions, the implementation of national legislation, the revision of laws that are discriminatory to women, and the strengthening of police and judicial procedures. In recent years, however, feminist activists and academics have recognized that advancing the status and empowerment of women requires recognition of the multiple …

Universality By Consensus: The Evolution Of Universality In The Drafting Of The Udhr, Amy Eckert

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Drafting, Origins & Intent by Johannes Morsink. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press (Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights), 2000. 400pp.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) has helped to define human rights standards and bring them to the forefront of global concern. Yet the UDHR continues to suffer from charges of cultural imperialism. While many scholars have answered these charges with philosophical justification for universal human rights, Johannes Morsink takes another approach to the question of cultural relativism in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Origins, Drafting & Intent.

Assessing The Concept Of Human Rights In Africa, Paul J. Magnarella

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of Human Rights in Africa: The Conflict of Implementation by Richard Amoako Baah. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2000. 123pp.

The title of this book is somewhat more expansive than its contents. The author, a native Ghanaian who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee and teaches government at South Texas College, reports on an interesting study of human rights/human dignity conceptualizations among the Akan people of Ghana. The Akan constitute about 60% of Ghana’s 14 million people and consist of five major groups: Fanti, Ashanti, Akim, Brong, and Akwapim. A sizable Akan population also lives …

The Deconstruction Of Refugees And The Reconstruction Of History, Peter W. Van Arsdale

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of States and Strangers: Refugees and Displacements of Statecraft, by Nevzat Soguk. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press (Borderlines Series, No. 11) 1999. 328 pp.

I would characterize Nevzat Soguk as either a neo-liberal operating in the guise of a postmodern deconstructionist, or a post-modern deconstructionist operating in the guise of a neoliberal. This is not a trivial distinction, nor an attempt to play semantic games, but my attempt to classify a brilliant theorist (known for his work in political science) whose book has a great deal of merit—but whose writing at times seems aimed more at discursive analysis …