Culture, Ethnicity and Human Rights.

• Author: Moon, Paul

Editor: Rorden Wilkinson Published by: New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Auckland, 1997, 105pp, $19.95.

Every historical period harbours views on culture, ethnicity, and human rights which are peculiar to it. This collection of six seminal essays, accompanied by two appendices, in a deceptively small volume, covers an extensive range of contemporary issues relating to international human rights. The emphasis is on a redefinition of the understanding of human rights, from a cross-cultural viewpoint, with the background of a new world political order in which the traditional bi-polar perceptions that previously informed much of the human rights debate have all but evaporated.

The first chapter explores these themes as much as the constraints of space allow, and draws together the strands of culture, ethnicity and human rights into a single fabric, and then briefly assesses some of the ways in which these issues impact on the conduct of international relations.

In the second chapter, Stephanie Lawson traces trends in culture and `political culture' as forces in international relations, and examines their relevance and application in the post-Cold War era. Attention is given to the cultural constructs of Orientalism and its counter-balance, Occidentalism, and how culture can be used as a political resource by states. This portion of the book expands on some of the concepts alluded to in the opening chapter, and is written in a style which is concise without sacrificing detail.

From this point on, the book moves away from theoretical considerations, and into some of the practical issues underscoring contemporary views on human rights in international relations. Yong-iin Zhang neatly summarises a broad sweep of recent advances in attitudes towards human rights, especially since the fall of Communism, leading to the conclusion that these developments have the potential to challenge many of the existing institutions of international relations, including even the nation-state.

The following three chapters, by Christopher Tremewan, Rouben Azizian, and Elizabeth Hoffmann respectively, are in the nature of case studies which give a close examination of a country or region, drawing on the themes introduced in the first half of the book.

The final two contributions, in the form of...