Civilising Globalisation: Human Rights and the Global Economy

David Kinley. Civilising Globalisation: Human Rights and the Global
Economy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. xiv + 256 pp.
$110.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-521-88781-6; $39.99 (paper), ISBN
978-0-521-71624-6.


Reviewed by Robert Blanton (University of Memphis)
Published on H-Human-Rights (August, 2010). Commissioned by Rebecca K. Root

Toward a Human Rights Approach to Globalization

Though human rights concerns and the global economy both occupy prominent places on the international agenda, there are many facets of their relationship which have not been fully examined. Indeed, as David Kinley notes, many in the international development community actually question whether the two are related. Seeking to dispel this doubt, and to better elucidate the complex linkages between human rights and the global economy, the author examines the points of intersection between human rights and three of the leading facets of the global economy: trade, aid,and commerce, specifically foreign direct investment (FDI). As indicated by the purposively ambiguous title of the book, the relationship between human rights and the global economy is reciprocal--globalization should ideally "civilize" societies by providing better standards of living, while the "civilizing" influence of human rights can help to ameliorate the inequalities that may accompany globalization. The goal of this book is thus to provide policy-relevant insights for better incorporating human rights concerns into the global economy....read more.