Bait and Switch: Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy

It has become routine for the US government to invoke human rights to justify its foreign policy decisions and military ventures. But this human rights talk has not been supported by a human rights walk. Policy makers consistently apply a double standard for human rights norms: one the rest of the world must observe, but which the US can safely ignore.

Based on extensive interviews with leading foreign policy makers, military officials, and human rights advocates, Mertus tells the story of h...