
Values in Translation
Human Rights and the Culture of the World Bank
Galit Sarfaty(Author)
Stanford University Press
Published on 20. June 2012
Book
Hardback
216 pages
978-0-8047-6351-6 (ISBN)
Description
The World Bank is the largest lender to developing countries, making loans worth over $20 billion per year to finance development projects around the globe. To guide its investments, the Bank has adopted a number of social and environmental policies, yet it has never instituted any overarching policy on human rights. Despite the potential human rights impact of Bank projects-the forced displacement of indigenous peoples resulting from a Bank-financed dam project, for example-the issue of human rights remains marginal in the Bank's operational practices.
Values in Translation analyzes the organizational culture of the World Bank and addresses the question of why it has not adopted a human rights framework. Academics and social advocates have typically focused on legal restrictions in the Bank's Articles of Agreement. This work's anthropological analysis sheds light on internal obstacles including the employee incentive system and a clash of expertise between lawyers and economists over how to define human rights and justify their relevance to the Bank's mission.
Values in Translation analyzes the organizational culture of the World Bank and addresses the question of why it has not adopted a human rights framework. Academics and social advocates have typically focused on legal restrictions in the Bank's Articles of Agreement. This work's anthropological analysis sheds light on internal obstacles including the employee incentive system and a clash of expertise between lawyers and economists over how to define human rights and justify their relevance to the Bank's mission.
Reviews / Votes
"Sarfaty uses anthropological analysis to identify internal obstacles to such a policy, including a clash of expertise between lawyers and economists over how to define human rights and justify their relevance to the Bank's mission."-Law & Social Inquiry "Sarfaty pushes readers' understanding of the [World] Bank and human rights beyond the conventional fixation on the Bank's core mandate and formal rules of operation and cogently analyzes the culture of the Bank to explain successes and failures in the adoption of human rights norms. This book contributes new insights to several fields, including international human rights, global governance, development, and law . . . Highly recommended."-J. R. Strand, CHOICE "Why has the World Bank been so slow to take on human rights? This fascinating ethnography follows the movement of people and ideas within the Bank to show how human rights were 'economized' in order to be heard. It offers great insight into the way organizations work and into the cultural dimensions of law."-Sally Engle Merry, New York University "The book offers a unique inside study of the culture of the World Bank and how it affects the Bank's attitudes toward human rights. It is an important book for those wanting to understand international organizations, human rights, and development."-Edith Brown Weiss, Professor of International Law at Georgetown University Law Center; Former President of the World Bank Inspection PanelMore details
Series
Edition
New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Palo Alto
United States
Edition type
New edition
Product notice
Cloth
Illustrations
2 tables
Dimensions
Height: 223 mm
Width: 148 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
396 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8047-6351-6 (9780804763516)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
06/2012
Stanford University Press
€28.88
Available for download
Person
Galit A. Sarfaty is Assistant Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.