The Human Right to Dominate

Reviews / Votes

The Human Right to Dominate is a compelling book for many reasons. The authors present a clear argument that the relationship between human rights and domination is strong and insidious, and explore it through the case of the seemingly intractable Israel/Palestine conflict, which attracts some of the most voluble human rights debate. ... Perugini and Gordon have made a welcome contribution to the growing range of scholarship that takes a hard, critical look at what the human rights system has become. * Lori Allen, Global Discourse * The tight relationship between human rights and the sovereign state has elicited significant critical attention (Agamben, 1998; Arendt [1951] 1968; Douzinas, 2000; cf. Cohen, 2012), and Perugini and Gordon (2015) make an important contribution to this literature as they examine Israel's creation as a representative example of "the constitutive relationship between human rights, national statecraft, and domination" (Perugini and Gordon, 2015:30). * Ayten Guendogdu, Journal of International Political Theory * This books intriguing title sums up a critical, compelling and innovative analysis of human rights Perugini and Gordon make a very important contribution to re-thinking the role of human rightstheir relation to state power, to domination and oppression and their functioning in social struggles. * Thomas Spijkerboer, Human Rights Law Review * Nourished by a profound knowledge of the intricacies of the situation in Israel and Palestine, Nicola Perugini and Neve Gordon uncover a remarkable paradox of contemporary society: how the claim for human rights can coexist with the use of violence and serve purposes of domination. Their convincing analysis invites a critical rethinking of the global moral order. * Didier Fassin, editor of Moral Anthropology and Contemporary States of Emergency * This is a stunning book. The clarity and insight of The Human Right to Dominate should be required reading for anyone concerned with human rights. The aim of the authors is not to debunk the concept, but to suggest that it must be open to a critical reinterpretation that subverts, rather than reinforces, relations of domination. * Joan W. Scott, School of Social Science, Institute for Advanced Study * For Nicola Perugini and Neve Gordon, if we celebrate the idea of human rights when progress occurs, we must also blame it when things go wrong. And their disturbing book on the fate of human rights in Israel/Palestine in the last decade shows why - not least when illegal settlers claim the ideals for themselves. But while wary of easy uplift, The Human Right to Dominate ultimately calls for saving human rights from what they have become in an age when states usually win and our highest values can help launder endless wars. * Samuel Moyn, author of The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History * The Human Right to Dominate is a highly original, provocative, and timely contribution. Perugini and Gordon offer a critical realist examination of the state of human rights in light of the fact that states, militaries, and other national security actors have used the language of human rights to justify wars, occupations, and extra-judicial executions. This, they argue, is not a misappropriation but a paradoxical consequence of the successful elevation of human rights language into a globalized normative framework. * Lisa Hajjar, author of Courting Conflict: The Israeli Military Court System in the West Bank and Gaza * The text is cogently argued, thought-provoking, and filled with fascinating detail. Perugini and Gordon provide a convincing demolition of the idea that human rights stand above politics, and that they always work in defense of the oppressed. * James Eastwood, Journal of Palestine Studies * A necessary comprehensive monography authored by two leading international human rights scholars and practitioners. * Mikel Mancisidor, Professor of International Law, University of Deusto & Member of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights * Bringing the historical, legal, and societal dimensions of the right to science together makes this book not merely unique, but also a crucial and necessary contribution to the advancement of this human right for its beneficiaries. * Yvonne Donders, Professor International Human Rights Law, University of Amsterdam & Member of the UN Human Rights Committee * An in-depth guide to the intriguing history and surprisingly pervasive spread of the Right to Science in legal and scientific frameworks worldwide. A highly recommended work for both scientific and legal experts, as well as for those new to the idea of science as a human right. * Drew Shindell, Nicholas Professor of Earth Sciences, Duke University * Comprehensive and systematic. Any scientist should keep a copy in the lab to be reminded of this key human right that impacts their work. * Andrea Musacchio, Director, Department of Mechanistic Cell Biology, Max Plank Institute of Molecular Physiology * Cesare Romano and Andrea Boggio's large-scale, comprehensive study of the human right to science is a major contribution not just to legal studies and human rights scholarship but to any ethical-political appraisal of public policies for the funding and regulation of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). * Carl Mitcham, Professor Emeritus of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at the Colorado School of Mines * An incisive exploration of science and human rights that reshapes our understanding of actual and future science policy. * Bartha M. Knoppers, Professor, Centre of Genomics and Policy, McGill University * A very much needed addition to the literature on science and human rights. * Alexandra Xanthaki, UN Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights *