This pathbreaking book is the first substantive contribution to a sociology of human rights and takes up the question of whether so-called Asian values are compatible with human rights discourse. Using a sociological and poststructuralist approach to the concept of rights, and incorporating transnationality into sociological theory, Anthony Woodiwiss demonstrates how the global human rights regime can accommodate Asian patriarchialism, while Pacific Asia is itself adapting by means of what he calls "enforceable benevolence."