Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preface -- Introduction: Human rights: historical and contemporary controversies / by Micheline R. Ishay -- Part I: The origins: secular, Asian, and monotheistic traditions -- Liberty, tolerance, and codes of justice -- Social and economic justice -- Justice, war and peace -- Justice for whom? -- Part II: The legacy of liberalism and the Enlightenment -- Liberal visions of human rights -- How to promote a liberal conception of human rights -- Human rights for whom? -- Part III: The socialist contribution and the industrial age -- Challenging the liberal vision of rights -- How to promote a socialist perspective of human rights -- Human rights for whom? -- Part IV: The right to self-determination and the imperial age -- On the national question -- Part V: Human rights in the era of globalization -- Redefining rights in the new millennium -- Human rights for whom? Cultural and group rights versus universalism -- How to promote human rights -- Part VI: Human rights and legal documents: a brief historical narrative -- Documents.