Human Rights and Radical Political Philosophy
Roberto Buonamano(Author)
Edward Elgar Publishing
Will be published approx. on 28. September 2026
Book
Hardback
208 pages
978-1-80037-614-4 (ISBN)
Description
Human Rights and Radical Political Philosophy engages in a critique of international human rights law through readings of influential European philosophers. Roberto Buonamano explores novel and valuable perspectives on the conceptualization of human rights and their relationship to the modern State.
Taking the radical political philosophies of Michel Foucault, Giorgio Agamben, Jacques Derrida, and Jean-Luc Nancy as a starting point, Buonamano interrogates the commonly received meanings of foundational concepts such as rights, democracy, freedom, and the State. Within the ambit of genealogy, human rights are examined through Foucault's analyses of governmentality and the subject of truth, and through Agamben's political ontological theses. The book furthers this discussion by assessing Derrida's deconstruction of the concepts of humanity, sovereignty, and democracy, as well as Nancy's re-evaluation of the political in terms of non-subjective sovereignty and 'being-in-common'.
Providing a more nuanced understanding of the role and theoretical premises of international human rights, this book is an enlightening read for students and scholars of legal theory and international human rights law. Followers of continental European political philosophy and legal theory will greatly benefit from this timely investigation of the ability of human rights to address some of the most consequential socio-political problems affecting modern societies.
Taking the radical political philosophies of Michel Foucault, Giorgio Agamben, Jacques Derrida, and Jean-Luc Nancy as a starting point, Buonamano interrogates the commonly received meanings of foundational concepts such as rights, democracy, freedom, and the State. Within the ambit of genealogy, human rights are examined through Foucault's analyses of governmentality and the subject of truth, and through Agamben's political ontological theses. The book furthers this discussion by assessing Derrida's deconstruction of the concepts of humanity, sovereignty, and democracy, as well as Nancy's re-evaluation of the political in terms of non-subjective sovereignty and 'being-in-common'.
Providing a more nuanced understanding of the role and theoretical premises of international human rights, this book is an enlightening read for students and scholars of legal theory and international human rights law. Followers of continental European political philosophy and legal theory will greatly benefit from this timely investigation of the ability of human rights to address some of the most consequential socio-political problems affecting modern societies.
Reviews / Votes
'In an era of normalised exceptions and juridified life, Buonamano refuses both liberal defences of rights and cynical dismissals. Instead, he reveals with exemplary rigour how human rights remain structurally complicit with the very sovereignty they resist. A timely, indispensable contribution to progressive political and legal thought.' -- Thanos Zartaloudis, University of Kent, UKMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cheltenham
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-80037-614-4 (9781800376144)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Roberto Buonamano, Senior Lecturer in Law, Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney, Australia