Presents 15 essays which together explore the relationship of U.S. foreign and domestic policy to the concept of human rights. The authors go beyond declared statements of support for human rights in their examinations of the actual impact of policy. They find that there is often a discrepancy between the U.S. self-image as a shining light in the field of human rights and the impacts of the defeat of health care reform, the actions of the International Monetary Fund (largely controlled by the U.S.), the failure to ratify human rights treaties, and other issues. While the authors differ in their opinions on the causes of the problem and possible fixes, they mainly support the concept of liberal democratic solutions. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
More Reviews and RecommendationsDavid P. Forsythe is Charles J. Mach Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Nebraska. He is the author or editor of many books, including Human Rights and Peace: International and National Dimensions (Nebraska 1993).