Human Rights in Asia and the Pacific: Critical Concepts in Asian Studies

In recent years there has been an extraordinary growth of interest in Asia and the Pacific. The centre of gravity for the global economy seems gradually to be shifting eastwards, and there is talk of the dawning of 'the Asian century'. A host of new regional and sub-regional political and economic groupings, institutions, interests and alliances have emerged from Asia and the Pacific. The military power and economic potential of countries such as China and India are impossible to ignore. Yet it is equally impossible to ignore the endemic poverty that persists throughout the region; the lack of development and the unequal development; the conflict, both civil and inter-state and the absence of institutions capable of guiding development and resolving disputes. These problems are, of course, not unique to Asia and the Pacific. Yet their manifestation in these regions has many distinctive features, and how these problems are met in Asia and the Pacific has profound implications for the rest of the world. For these reasons, a collection of essays on human rights in Asia and the Pacific is timely. Bringing together some of the leading writing over many decades, across continents and disciplines, enables critical reflection on the state of knowledge in the field, as well as its preoccupations and blind-spots.