Human Rights, Culture and Context

A world characterized by ethno-nationalist struggles, civil wars, and political violence has led anthropologists to examine in more detail the relationships between state violence, ideas about culture, and the activities of human rights organizations. This text considers recent theoretical insights into the politics of identity and traces the concrete interconnections created by the globalization of human rights. Drawing on case studies from around the world - Guatemala, Mauritius, Amazonia, Hawaii, Iran, the United States and Mexico - this collection documents how transnational human rights discourses and legal institutions are materialized, imposed, resisted and transformed in a variety of contexts.