Values in Translation

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 Panel