This book proposes a new agenda for research into a Critical Theory of Human Rights. Each chapter pursues three goals: to reconstruct modern philosophical theories that have contributed to our views on human rights; to highlight the importance of humanity and human dignity as a complementary dimension to liberal rights; and, finally, to integrate these issues more directly in contemporary discussions about cosmopolitanism. The authors not only present multicultural perspectives on how to rethink political and international theory in terms of the normativity of human rights, but also promote an international dialogue on the prospects for a critical theory of human rights discourses in the 21st century.

Matthias Lutz-Bachmann is Professor of Philosophy at Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany. Amos Nascimento is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Washington Tacoma, USA.

Introduction; Chapter 1 The Idea of Human Rights and the Realities of World Politics, MatthiasLutz-Bachmann; Part I Human Rights and Human Dignity Beyond the State; Chapter 2 Human Rights, Human Dignity, and Hypothetical Consent, William J.Talbott; Chapter 3 Global Governance and Human Rights, CristinaLafont; Chapter 4 Are Human Rights Moral Rights?, AndreasNiederberger; Part II Human Rights and Cosmopolitanism with a Human Face; Chapter 5 Human Rights and the Paradigms of Cosmopolitanism, AmosNascimento; Chapter 6 From Imperial to Dialogical Cosmopolitanism, EduardoMendieta; Chapter 7 Two Traditions of Human Rights, JamesTully;