Appreciation of the context that advances or hinders the enjoyment of human rights would provide the basis for developing relevant strategies, including the use of concepts, laws and mechanisms to promote human rights protection. With this aim, this book facilitates reflection on the theory and practice of human rights. It deals with the historical evolution of human rights ideas, traces the evolution of international human rights law, examines the UN and other human rights protection mechanisms, discusses the growth of human rights NGOs and their contribution, and studies the changing contours of the human rights movement. Human Rights in Theory and Practice: An Overview of Concepts and Treaties includes detailed examination of the provisions of major human rights treaties. It is a revised and updated version of the 1998 publication, Human Rights Praxis: A Resource Book for Study, Action and Reflection, which was widely used by activists and other readers and was translated into Bahasa Indonesia, Thai and Tamil. The present book will similarly be of interest to human rights activists and scholars of politics, law, sociology, history, international relations and peace studies.

1 The dominant discourse

Contributed articles.

“Your interesting, carefully detailed manual about Systems Theory V.S Evolutionary Theory is original in the field. The subject is vividly and easily explained with examples that help the reader understand the peculiarities and insights described. All the aspects of interpreting the human conscience, morality and law, the evolutionary theory in society from a theological and scientific viewpoint. War, conspiracy, are classified in depth, with a simple and clear prose that leaves no doubts regarding the subject. The theological references are correctly placed, and provide crucial additional information for those who want to deepen the content. I think this manual will be very useful for your country’s readers and for European ones as well.” —Source: Ginevra Picani, Assignment Editor for Press House Europe Books Publishing Firm and Manuscript Reviews. The contents of this book is in relation to the subject of human equality with a strong focus on interpreting the human conscience, morality, and law. The book contains references to theological terms from the Holy Bible, as well as scientific references to systems theory and systems science. The book is intended to empower the individual with knowledge concerning the basic rights of a human being, whilst exploring the implications of the evolutionary theory in society from both a theological and scientific viewpoint. The book also contains references to quantum theory, war, conspiracy, the Holocaust, Communism, New Atheism, politics, nudity, sexual immorality, animal cruelty, hell and racism from a Christian perspective. This book is not recommended for individuals under the age of 18. All views within this book are within the spectrum of the law concerning freedom of speech, so as to not break the law, nor infringe upon a person’s basic rights as a human being.

This book is an abridged version of Feng Qi’s two major works on the history of philosophy, The Logical Development of Ancient Chinese Philosophy and The Revolutionary Course of Modern Chinese Philosophy. It is a comprehensive history of Chinese philosophy taking the reader from ancient times to the year 1949. It illuminates the characteristics of traditional Chinese philosophy from the broader vantage point of epistemology. The book revolves around important debates including those on “Heaven and humankind” (tian ren天人), “names and actualities” (mingshi名實), “principle and vital force” (liqi理氣), “the Way and visible things” (daoqi道器), “mind and matter/things” (xinwu心物), and “knowledge and action” (zhixing知行). Through discussion of these debates, the course of Chinese philosophy unfolds. Modern Chinese philosophy has made landmark achievements in the development of historical and epistemological theory, namely the “dynamic and revolutionary theory of reflection”. However, modern Chinese philosophy is yet to construct a systematic overview of logic and methodology, as well as questions of human freedom and ideals. Amid this discussion, the question of how contemporary China is to “take the baton” from the thinkers of the modern philosophical revolution is addressed.

This is the third edition of Van Dijk and Van Hoof's classic work: "Theory and Practice of the European Convention. The developments which have taken place under the Convention since the second edition was published have been numerous and comprehensive, and the Convention has gained a central position in the legal systems of many European countries. Three Protocols have been added to the Convention; the number of Parties to the Convention has grown from twenty-two to no less than thirty-six; and the case-law concerning the Convention has increased significantly. Like its predecessors, this third edition offers a full description of the present procedural practice and case-law of both the European Commission and the European Court of Human Rights, and is an indispensable guide. Protocol No. 11 to the Convention, which will enter into force by the end of 1998, will drastically change the supervisory system under the Convention, establishing one Court. This new Court will also perform the present functions of the Commission's procedures and working methods, and by its case-law concerning admissibility. This new edition will therefore remain relevant for the practice and case-law of the new Court for many years to come.

Winner: 2002 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Award What are human rights? What justifies us in believing we have them? What are rights-holders and duty-bearers? Who should bear the costs and responsibilities for making human rights real? Why have some criticized the human rights perspective? And how can those supportive of human rights best respond? These and other conceptual issues are discussed in full in the first part of this book. The second part offers a detailed account of how the human rights idea came to be such a powerful force in the contemporary world; it traces the evolution of human rights from their origins to their present position in our daily lives, in political struggles, and in both national and international law.

This volume offers a comprehensible account of the development and evolution of moral systems. It seeks to answer the following questions: If morals are eternal and unchanging, why have the world’s dominant religious moral systems been around for no more than a mere six thousand of the two hundred thousand years of modern human existence? What explains the many and varied moral systems across the globe today? How can we account for the significant change in moral values in one place in less than 100 years’ time? Using examples from classical civilizations, the book demonstrates how increasing diversity compromises a moral system’s ability to account for and integrate larger populations into a single social unit. This environmental stress is not relieved until a broader, more abstract moral system is adopted by a social system. This new system provides a sense of belonging and purpose for more people, motivating them to engage in prosocial (or moral) acts and refrain from socially disruptive selfish acts. The current human rights paradigm is the world’s first universal, indigenous moral system. Because moral systems can be expected to continue to evolve, this book points to current boundaries of the human rights paradigm and where the next major moral revolution might emerge. ​

This issue of Ideas in History marks our continuing attempt to internationalize the journal at the same time that we publish scholarship of pressing international interest from scholars based in Scandinavia. Ideas in History 6, no. 1 is an open issue—though its pieces lay emphasis on the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The articles in this issue emphasize intersections between culture, morality and politics. Mikkel Thorup investigates genealogies of radical terrorist philosophy and practice. Ben Dorfman looks into plays of historical thought in human rights, and the problem of alienation in both human rights and philosophy of history. Benjamin C. Sax regrounds Nietzschean concepts of the Will to Power and Will to Truth via new understandings of Nietzschean genealogy, and Elisabeth Stubb takes on problems of nation-building in Finland, and the role of intellectuals in the creation of world opinion. We hope our readers find Ideas in History 6, no. 1 enriching.