The Promise of Human Rights : Constitutional Government, Democratic Legitimacy, and International Law / Jamie Mayerfeld.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mayerfeld, Jamie, Author.

Series:

Pennsylvania studies in human rights.

Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Human rights.

Constitutional law.

Exceptionalism--United States.

Exceptionalism.

National characteristics, American.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (321 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, [2016]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

International human rights law is often criticized as an infringement of constitutional democracy. InThe Promise of Human Rights, Jamie Mayerfeld argues to the contrary that international human rights law provides a necessary extension of checks and balances and therefore completes the domestic constitutional order. In today's world, constitutional democracy is best understood as a cooperative project enlisting both domestic and international guardians to strengthen the protection of human rights. Reasons to support this view may be found in the political philosophy of James Madison, the principal architect of the U.S. Constitution.The Promise of Human Rightspresents sustained theoretical discussions of human rights, constitutionalism, democracy, and sovereignty, along with an extended case study of divergent transatlantic approaches to human rights. Mayerfeld shows that the embrace of international human rights law has inhibited human rights violations in Europe whereas its marginalization has facilitated human rights violations in the United States. A longstanding policy of "American exceptionalism" was a major contributing factor to the Bush administration's use of torture after 9/11.Mounting a combination of theoretical and empirical arguments, Mayerfeld concludes that countries genuinely committed to constitutional democracy should incorporate international human rights law into their domestic legal system and accept international oversight of their human rights practices.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1. Human Rights

Chapter 2. Madison’s Compound Republic and the Logic of Checks and Balances

Chapter 3. Europe and the Virtues of International Constitutionalism

Chapter 4. American Exceptionalism and the Betrayal of Human Rights, Part I: The Torture Memos

Chapter 5. American Exceptionalism and the Betrayal of Human Rights, Part II: Enabling Torture

Chapter 6. The Democratic Legitimacy of International Human Rights Law

Conclusion

Notes

Index

Acknowledgments

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Jul 2020)

ISBN:

9780812292800

0812292804

OCLC:

947084164