1st Edition

Trade and Human Rights The Ethical Dimension in US - China Relations

By Susan C. Morris Copyright 2002
    218 Pages
    by Routledge

    This title was first published in 2002: Utilizing the case of the 1994 US decision to delink China’s human rights record from most favoured nation status, Susan C. Morris addresses the critical issues where commercialism and human rights converge. This insightful addition to the literature on US foreign policy on human rights draws on both political and economic theory, touching upon the relationships between labour conditions and production, business and freedom of association, management and bargaining and ultimately the relationship between economics and human justice. Empirically, the work draws on US Congressional proceedings and debates throughout the decade of the 1990s. Although the trade and human rights debate has long been ingrained in the rhetoric of scholars, the research approaches the issue within the context of communism’s last major threshold, making it a valuable contribution to the field of international relations.

    Contents: Introduction; Theoretical perspectives; The evolution of US - China trade policy; Delinking trade and human rights; Transnational influences; Conclusion; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.

    Biography

    Susan C. Morris, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, USA

    ’This is a careful examination of a key stage in US - China relations, viewed in various theoretical perspectives and discussed with an eye to future political developments. It enhances our knowledge of a relationship whose importance is only matched by its complexity.’ Professor David P. Forsythe, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA