Forced to Be Good - Why Trade Agreements Boost Human Rights

Emilie M. Hafner-Burton

Sinossi

Preferential trade agreements have become common ways to protect or restrict access to national markets in products and services. The United States has signed trade agreements with almost two dozen countries as close as Mexico and Canada and as distant as Morocco and Australia. The European Union has done the same. In addition to addressing economic issues, these agreements also regulate the protection of human rights. In Forced to Be Good, Emilie M. Hafner-Burton tells the story of the politics of such agreements and of the ways in which governments pursue market integration policies that advance their own political interests, including human rights.How and why do global norms for social justice become international regulations linked to seemingly unrelated issues, such as trade? Hafner-Burton finds that the process has been unconventional. Efforts by human rights advocates and labor unions to spread human rights ideals, for example, do not explain why American and European governments employ preferential trade agreements to protect human rights. Instead, most of the regulations protecting human rights are codified in global moral principles and laws only because they serve policymakers' interests in accumulating power or resources or solving other problems. Otherwise, demands by moral advocates are tossed aside. And, as Hafner-Burton shows, even the inclusion of human rights protections in trade agreements is no guarantee of real change, because many of the governments that sign on to fair trade regulations oppose such protections and do not intend to force their implementation.Ultimately, Hafner-Burton finds that, despite the difficulty of enforcing good regulations and the less-than-noble motives for including them, trade agreements that include human rights provisions have made a positive difference in the lives of some of the people they are intended-on paper, at least-to protect.

Disponibile da: 02/07/2013.

Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

The School Revolution - A New...

Ron Paul

Twelve-term Texas Congressman, Presidential candidate, and #1 New York Times bestselling author Ron Paul returns with a highly provocative treatise about how we need to fundamentally change the way we think about America's broken education system in order to fix it.Whether or not you have children, you know that education is vital to the prosperity and future of our society. Yet our current system simply doesn't work. Parents feel increasingly powerless, and nearly half of Americans give our schools a grade of "C". Now, in his new book, Ron Paul attacks the problem head-on and provides a focused solution that centers on strong support for home schooling and the application of free market principles to the American education system. Examining the history of education in this country, Dr. Paul identifies where we've gone wrong, what we can do about it, and how we can change the way we think about education in order to provide a brighter future for Americans.

Mostra libro

Princess Countess Socialite Spy...

Elise Baker

The Second World War changed the course of modern history. It is filled with incredible stories of daring risks and exceptional struggles, but these stories are more often than not the stories of men.
There is, however, a hidden treasure trove of untold stories of heroic women who have risked their lives in the monumental battle against fascism.
We’ve heard of women who became nurses treating soldiers with battlefield injuries, partisans who fought occupying armies, and skilled laborers who worked in wartime industries.
But in the shadows, as part of a secret war against the Nazis, women served as intelligence agents who risked their lives to collect and relay information vital to the war effort. Danger lurked at every turn.
These courageous women spies worked in secret, but their stories, which are finally coming to light today, offer a significant and unique perspective on the history of World War II.
You'll learn the thrilling stories of five high-society ladies (Virginia Hall, Christine Granville, Noor Inayat Khan, Nancy Wake and Aline Griffith) who went behind enemy lines to aid the war effort, what motivated them to take such risks, and how these women heroes of WWII helped shape the course and outcome of the most significant war in modern history.
You’ll gain insights into why some high-society ladies chose to give up a life of comfort to fight against global tyranny and live under constant threat of exposure and imprisonment or death.
If you’re looking for a unique and enlightening view of the Second World War and are interested in women’s historically overshadowed roles in international espionage, then look no further than Princess, Countess, Socialite, Spy.

Mostra libro

John Wilkes - The Scandalous...

Arthur H. Cash

Pulitzer Prize Finalist: A biography of the wildly colorful eighteenth-century British politician who became “the toast of American revolutionaries” (Booklist).   One of the most colorful figures in English political history, John Wilkes (1726–97) is remembered as the father of the British free press, a defender of civil and political liberties—and a hero to American colonists. Wilkes’s political career was rancorous, involving duels, imprisonments in the Tower of London, and the Massacre of St. George’s Fields, in which seven of his supporters were shot to death by government troops. He was equally famous for his “private” life—as a confessed libertine, a member of the notorious Hellfire Club, and the author of what has been called the dirtiest poem in the English language.   This lively biography draws a full portrait of John Wilkes from his childhood days through his heyday as a journalist and agitator, his defiance of government prosecutions for libel and obscenity, his fight against exclusion from Parliament, and his service as lord mayor of London on the eve of the American Revolution. Told here with the force and immediacy of a firsthand newspaper account, Wilkes’s own remarkable story is inseparable from the larger story of modern civil liberties and how they came to fruition.   “[Does] justice to Wilkes both as a fiery proponent of individual rights and as . . . a libertine par excellence in an age with no shortage of memorable rakes.” —The New York Times   “It is difficult to believe that John Wilkes, a notorious womanizer and scandal-monger, was a genuine hero of civil liberties and political democracy on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 18th century, but hero he was and in this engaging book Arthur Cash gives Wilkes the serious treatment he has long deserved.” —Eric Foner, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in History and New York Times–bestselling author of Reconstruction

Mostra libro

Occupy Money - Creating an...

Margrit Kennedy

A visionary case for a new monetary system that is interest-free, just and stableAs a medium of exchange, money is one of the most ingenious inventions of mankind, as it facilitates the trade of goods and services and allows for specialization and the division of labor. However, compound interest and inflation have caused our monetary system to balloon to the point where bailing out banks, large corporations, and even entire countries will not prevent a complete breakdown of the global economy-unless we change the system in fundamental ways.It's time for a grassroots movement to knock conventional money off its pedestal and replace it with a fresh paradigm that puts people before profits. A guide not only for the 99% but also for the 1%,  Occupy Money  demonstrates that the creation of a stable and sustainable monetary system will reflect real wealth rather than the smoke and mirrors of speculative profit, thus providing an alternative to the Age of Austerity. This vision can be realized through such creative initiatives as:Establishing time banks and complementary currencies geared to specific services such as health and educationEliminating interest through interest-free loans and "demurrage", which rewards currency circulationRe-localizing economies through regional currencies.For many years financial insiders have hidden economic truths by describing them in arcane terms that no layperson can understand.  Occupy Money  uses clear, simple and concise language to explain how money will serve people instead of people serving money, and in doing so it issues a challenge to the very foundations of conventional economic doctrine.

Mostra libro

The Bomb - A New History

Steven M. Younger

A former Los Alamos weapons designer shares “an indispensable guide to the science and strategy of nuclear weapons” (Booklist). 
 
From his years at Los Alamos and the Nevada Test Site to his meetings with nuclear arms experts in Moscow, former weapons designer Stephen M. Younger has witnessed firsthand the making of nuclear policy. With a deep understanding of both the technology and the politics behind nuclear weapons, he guides us from the Manhattan Project to the Cold War and into the present day, illuminating how nuclear weapons fit into our globalized, war-plagued world.  
 
With startling clarity, Younger reveals how weapons work, the myths and realities of what happens after a nuclear explosion, and how our nuclear policy evolved to what it is today. In an era when rogue nations like North Korean and Iran strive to create their own precarious weapons programs, Younger provides much-needed background and insight for students, policy makers, and readers who wish to better understand the important issues involving nuclear weapons and national security. 
 
“Younger has provided an insightful guide, especially for the general reader, into today’s array of nuclear powers and their capabilities.” —James Schlesinger, former Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Energy

Mostra libro

No Island of Sanity - Paula...

Vincent Bugliosi

In a series called “The Library of Contemporary Thought,” top opinion-makers explore the most provocative, fascinating, and momentous issues that have occurred in the United States. In this first volume, famed Los Angeles prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi takes on the Supreme Court. Considered by some to be an island of sanity surrounded by a sea of insanity that is our society, the Supreme Court has increasingly come under scrutiny for some dubious decisions. In this compelling work, Bugliosi puts the Supreme Court on trial for its handling of Paula Jones vs. Bill Clinton. The author argues that the right of a president to be free of a private lawsuit while in office outweighs a plaintiff's interest in having his or her case brought expediently to trial—regardless of a case's supposed merit.

Mostra libro