FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CIVILISING GLOBALISATION
Human Rights and the Global Economy
by David Kinley
Cambridge University Press | October 22, 2009 | ISBN: 978-0-521-71624-6
“For the human rights of the poor, globalization is a double-edged sword,” says David
Kinley, Chair in Human Rights Law at the University of Sydney and author of the new book
CIVILISING GLOBALISATION: HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE GLOBAL ECONOMY (Cambridge University
Press; October 29, 2009).
Economic globalization has lifted millions out of abject poverty and has enriched the quality of
life for individuals and communities everywhere. But it has also resulted in egregious human
rights abuses and is often used to rationalize ethically questionable commercial and political
practices.
In CIVILISING GLOBALISATION, Kinley explores the points where the push for universal human
rights and globalization intersect. With a critical eye focused on liberal, free-market
economics, Kinley identifies and describes in-detail the failures and deficiencies of the
modern global economy.
“Multinational corporations are poisoning [people’s] lands and rivers, uprooting them from
their homes and livelihoods, exploiting their labor, and cracking their heads open,” Kinley
explains. “The free-market rules of WTO and trading blocs such as NAFTA and the EU are
stacked against developing states by reinforcing, rather than removing, the competitive
advantages of the rich states.”
However, unlike pure skeptics, Kinley also acknowledges the benefits of globalization.
“The provision of economic aid, the expansion of global trade, and the establishment and
development of commercially robust economics, are, or can be, mechanisms for stimulating
chain reactions that increase individual and aggregate wealth, alleviate poverty, promote
opportunities and freedoms, and strengthen governance,” he writes.
Combining meticulous research with informed views and experiences, Kinley outlines a
prescription for the humanitarian short-comings of free-market economics that maximizes
human rights benefits while minimizing abuses.
States - individually and collectively - must regulate trade, aid, and commercial activities such
that their obligations under international human rights law are met. International financial
institutions, such as the World Bank, IMF and WTO, must not impede, but rather assist in
promoting human rights. Corporations must go beyond simply abiding by the principles of
capitalism and accept their duty to respect human rights even where hard laws are
inadequate or absent. Moreover, it makes good business sense to do so in order to avoid
- Over -
human rights catastrophes (i.e. reputation-harming violations) and promote better corporate
citizenship.
CIVLISING GLOBALISATION is essential reading for anyone interested in gaining a better sense
of how human rights and global economic expansion will influence one another as the world
continues to tackle abounding humanitarian and economic challenges.
David Kinley holds the Chair in Human Rights Law at the University of Sydney. An
internationally renowned expert in the field, he has advised governments and corporations
on human rights issues and has worked with the UN, the World Bank, AusAID and various
NGOs.
David Kinley IS AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS.
To arrange for a review copy of CIVILISING GLOBALISATION or to schedule an interview with
David Kinley, please contact:
Greg Kelly, Publicity Assistant | (212) 337-5064 | gkelly@cambridge.org
CIVILISING GLOBALISATION
Human Rights and the Global Economy
by David Kinley will be published by Cambridge University Press on October 22, 2009
$39.99 | 272 Pages | ISBN: 978-0-521-71624-6