Making Human Dignity Central to International Human Rights Law

‘In this challenging and original work, Matthew McManus explores the unrealized potential of dignity. In pushing back on critical legal traditions where law serves as a tool of the oppressor, McManus endeavours to reimagine law as emancipatory and transformative. He reorients the international human rights project and demonstrates “how it could be used to establish a world in which human dignity was more broadly respected”. At a time of social anxiety and global uncertainty, Making Human Dignity Central to International Human Rights Law is a welcome contribution to the field.’
Dr Kathleen Cavanaugh, ICHR, National University of Ireland (Galway)

‘At a time when much of the post-war human rights project seems to be foundering on so many fronts, Matthew McManus offers us a timely and bold recasting of that project. Both analytically sophisticated and profoundly readable, this book makes a forceful case for placing a retooled concept of human dignity at the very heart of international human rights. It is an important and timely intervention that marks an original and compelling contribution to critical legal scholarship. It deserves to be widely read.’
Dr Trevor Purvis, Carleton University