A Global Political Morality
Human Rights, Democracy, and Constitutionalism

'Michael J. Perry's A Global Political Morality: Human Rights, Democracy, and Constitutionalism is a tour de force. It is a cutting-edge book in political theory that is deeply informed by a number of disciplines, including modern global history, constitutional law, international law, and religious studies. It is written in a clear, engaging, and economical style. Perry incorporates the fruits of his previous scholarship in this work of fresh insight.' M. Cathleen Kaveny, Darald and Juliet Libby Professor of Law and Theology, Boston College, Massachusetts

'I am enthusiastic about the contributions this book makes to the literature of human rights and constitutionalism. It presents an original thesis about human rights discourse and a novel argument about how that discourse ought to fit into our existing structure for constitutional law and adjudication. Perry's position is logically constructed and lucidly presented. In explicating it he offers one illuminating insight after another. I have read fairly widely in the human rights literature and I have not read any argument that makes more sense in explaining the force of the human rights idea.' Richard S. Kay, Wallace Stevens Professor of Law, University of Connecticut

'With his usual precision, Michael Perry offers a powerful – and qualified – defense of a political morality of human rights that illuminates important issues of substance and institutional design. Perry's explanation of how courts can enforce substantive human rights without undermining the human right to democratic self-government by using a carefully defined concept of deference, is a significant contribution to his already distinguished body of work.' Mark Tushnet, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law, Harvard Law School, Massachusetts

'Long an accomplished and distinctive liberal-minded voice in both fields, Michael Perry returns here to the contentious question of whether and how an express regard for the international discourse of human rights can and should enter into constitutional adjudication in the US. The work brings together Perry's moderately combative account of a moral core in the human-rights discourse with a perspicuous probing of the grounds for a justiciable bill of rights in a liberal democracy, yielding much for both moralists and lawyers to chew on.' Frank I. Michelman, Robert Walmsley University Professor, Emeritus, Harvard Law School, Massachusetts