East Asia's Struggle with Human Rights

The protection of human rights is one of the core issues in world politics. At the beginning of the 21st century there is not a single nation or culture that is not in one way or another enmeshed in human rights regimes. However, East Asia is a region that proves reluctant to the realization of human rights. Is East Asia too heterogeneous for a common human rights regime? The author Henriette Litta evaluates factors that account for the non-existence of such a regime. The author deconstructs the predominant argument of "Asian values" that are supposed to contradict the idea of individual rights. Her own explanation factors consist of two parts. First, authoritarian leaders in the region regard human rights as a Pandora's box that poses a danger to their power privileges. Governments impede enforcement by invoking pretexts as sovereignty prerogatives and economic development constraints. Second, regional cooperation is underdeveloped due to a disturbed balance of power, low institutionalization, and lack of regional identity and trust. This book is addressed to researchers and interested persons in the fields of human rights, Asian and cultural studies and international relations.