Asia Pacific and Human Rights

Professor Paul Close and David Askew, Associate Professor, specialize in Asia Pacific Studies at the Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan.

• Contents: Introduction; Setting the scene; Power, politics and the idea of human rights; Asian ways; The Asia Pacific game of human rights; Asia pacific realism and human rights; Asia pacific regionalism and human rights; The meaning of human rights and the uncertainty of death; Political rights of non-nationals: the constitutional debate in Japan; Indigenous peoples of the Asia Pacific: a case study of the Ainu; Globalization, sovereignty, international law and human rights; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

'Globalization has carried the modernist moral agenda that underpins the burgeoning human rights industry onto the contested terrain of the traditional values of the Asian Pacific region. Close and Askew's important book offers accessible, non-legalistic insights into the complexities of the evolving relationship between the human rights agenda, regional cultural traditions and the growing influence of the political economy of the Asian Pacific region on the world stage.' Gwen Wallace, Emeritus Professor, University of Derby, UK 'By forcefully arguing for the importance of power and culture in understanding human rights in the Asia Pacific, Close and Askew make a timely contribution to current debates on human rights. An impressive, critical analysis from a global political economy perspective is complemented by an empirically rich account of a broad range of human rights matters. The book invites readers to contemplate an intensification of contests over human rights as the Asia Pacific further advances its political economy status on the world stage.' Dr Xu Xin, Harvard University, USA.