This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Elliott, M. A. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Human Rights and the Triumph of the Individual in World Culture

Emory University, USA, maellio{at}emory.edu

Despite ongoing attention to the subject, cultural accounts of the globalization of human rights are surprisingly scarce. Most accounts describe this phenomenon either as a function of evolutionary progress or the rational/strategic action of states and social movement organizations. As a result, they have difficulty explaining both the moral impulse to act on behalf of human rights and the tremendous expansion of the ideology itself. Borrowing insights from global cultural analysis, I argue that the increasing concern for, and elaboration of, human rights points to a world-cultural environment where the individual is increasingly regarded as sacred and inviolable. To demonstrate this, I explore how human rights have developed historically as a `cult of the individual' and present new data on their recent worldwide expansion.

Key Words: cult of the individual • globalization • human rights • sacred • world culture

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Boli and M. A. Elliott Facade Diversity: The Individualization of Cultural Difference International Sociology, July 1, 2008; 23(4): 540 - 560. [Abstract] [PDF]