Human Rights Theory

The Oxford Handbook of the Theory of International Law

The Oxford Handbook of International Legal Theory provides an accessible and authoritative guide to the major thinkers, concepts, approaches, and debates that have shaped contemporary international legal theory. The Handbook features 48 original essays by leading international scholars from a wide range of traditions, nationalities, and perspectives, reflecting the richness and diversity of this dynamic field. The collection explores key questions and debates in international legal theory, offers new intellectual histories for the discipline, and provides fresh interpretations of significant historical figures, texts, and theoretical approaches. It provides a much-needed map of the field of international legal theory, and a guide to the main themes and debates that have driven theoretical work in international law. The Handbook will be an indispensable reference work for students, scholars, and practitioners seeking to gain an overview of current theoretical debates about the nature, function, foundations, and future role of international law.

Human Rights Education in China

The book provides new research highlighting perspectives, perceptions, and practices regarding human rights and human rights education in China. It traces the emergence and evolution of the human rights conception and human rights education from comparative perspectives. China’s deeply embedded philosophical and cultural traditions shed light on its ideas of human rights and human rights education. The efforts to construct an independent and strong nation-state since the mid-to-late nineteenth century fashioned the Chinese thinking of rights and citizenship, and the reciprocal relation between the individual and community/state. With the help of collected data, the book unpacks that the goal-making and content-selection of human rights education in China rely heavily on the provisions given by central authorities; however, the practices have different facets depends on how the people perceive and respond those requirements in the school and classroom contexts. The book concludes by explaining the human rights education in China as a socialization project for citizenship-making, and suggests that China’s doctrine on human rights and human rights education is closely associated with cultural relativization and social construction. Though China is just beginning to develop human rights education in its education systems, this study suggests possible direction for future research. How to live with human rights should be included further in schooling, especially how to infuse human rights education into all aspects of school day-to-day life.

Human Rights Theories and Practices