Human Rights in Asia

This book offers a critical reassessment of the 'Asian values' debate, which dominated the human rights discourse in the late 1990s, and a reappraisal of the human rights situation in Asia since then. The chapters in this book contextualize the debate and examine in what ways the issues raised then continue to trouble Asian societies.

"Once in a while, a book comes along that takes an 'outdated' topic and shows it to be cutting-edge. Human Rights in Asia is just such a work. The contributors to this volume unite a profound awareness of historical context with commitments to comparative inquiry. Addressing key conceptual shifts as well as careful case studies from across Asia, Human Rights in Asia shows how any assumption that debates over 'Asian Values' ended in the 1990s is profoundly mistaken. Instead, these essays show how conceptions of human rights in Asia have been reworked in the wake of financial crisis, political transformation, and the geopolitics of the 'war on terror.' Those with interests in Asian Studies, human rights, and a range of other topics will find this volume invaluable." - Tom Boellstorff , University of California, Irvine

Autorentext
LEENA AVONIUS is Senior Researcher, Renvall Institute for Area and Cultural Studies, University of Helsinki, Finland.

DAMIEN KINGSBURY is Associate Professor, and Associate Head (Research) of the School of International and Political Studies at Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.

Inhalt
Introduction; D.Kingsbury & L.Avonius Universalism and Exceptionalism in 'Asia'; D.Kingsbury Asia Values? Why Not, But How?; J.Chen Human Rights from the Left: The Early Chinese Democracy Movement and Reconciling Human Rights with Marxism; L.Paltemaa Chinese Values and Human Rights; A.Kent From Marsinah to Munir: Grounding Human Rights in Indonesia; L.Avonius From Asian Values to Singapore Exceptionalism; L.Wai-Teng Leong The Notions of Human Rights in Thai Context: Rhetoric or Substance on Asian Values; N.Thabchumpon Asian Values and Responses to Human Rights in Indonesia; K.Asplund Asian Values, Gender and Culture-Specific Development; P.Koskinen Colonial Modernity and the Nation-State: Debates in Japan in the Post-Cold War Years; M.Iwatake Walking the Line between 'War on Terror' and the Defence of Human Rights; R.Toivanen