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OverviewSince 9/11 and the onset of the “war on terror,” the principal challenge confronting liberal democracies has been to balance freedom with security and individual with collective rights. In Defence of Principles sheds new light on the evolution of human rights norms in liberal democracies by charting the activism of four Canadian NGOs on issues of refugee rights, hate speech, and the death penalty, including their use of difficult, often controversial legal cases as platforms to assert human rights principles and shape judicial policy-making. Although human rights principles are often spoken of in absolute terms, this book reminds us that they are never certain – even in countries that have a vibrant civil society, a long tradition of rule of law, and a judiciary that possesses the constitutional authority to engage in judicial review. The struggles of these NGOs reveal not only the fragility but also the resilience of ideas about rights in liberal democracies. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Andrew ThompsonPublisher: University of British Columbia Press Imprint: University of British Columbia Press Dimensions: Width: 15.90cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 23.50cm Weight: 0.340kg ISBN: 9780774818629ISBN 10: 077481862 Pages: 224 Publication Date: 01 July 2011 Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , General , Professional & Vocational Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In Print  This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us. Table of ContentsPreface Introduction: In Defence of Principles 1 My Brother's Keeper: The Canadian Council of Churches and the Rights of Refugees 2 The Misuse of Freedom? The Canadian Jewish Congress, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and the Limits of Expression 3 Shocking the Conscience? Amnesty International Canada and Abolition of the Death Penalty Conclusion: Principles in the Age of Rights Notes Selected Bibliography IndexReviewsIn Defence of Principles is a comprehensive survey of three groundbreaking Charter cases and the NGOs that plunged into the heart of these controversies. Thompson's book ultimately reminds readers of the fragility of NGOs' gains in the field of human rights, as the experiences of AI Canada in Kindler and of the CCC in Singh both show. Thompson's work also describes how NGO intervention is not without its costs. The CCLA and AI Canada, for instance, paid a substantial price in the form of adverse publicity and decreased donations, respectively, for being seen to side with odious individuals (whether a virulent racist or two violent criminals). In spite of these setbacks, the persistence of Singh, Keegstra, and Kindler in current debates on refugees, free expression, and capital punishment remains a legacy of the intervention and bold ideas of Canada's NGOs. -- Stephen Hsia Osgoode Hall Law Journal Vol 49, No 2 This is a well-crafted, subtle, and highly relevant though specialized contribution to human rights and security. Summing up: Highly recommended. -- M.D. Crosston, Bellevue University CHOICE, Vol. 48, No. 09 <p>This book is an important addition to the literature on the evolution of human rights norms, the sociology of law, and Canadian politics. It is a first-rate study that adds a political dimension to the legalistic and historically oriented accounts of these issues.? Alison Brysk, Mellichamp Professor, Global and International Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara In Defence of Principles is a comprehensive survey of three groundbreaking Charter cases and the NGOs that plunged into the heart of these controversies. Thompson's book ultimately reminds readers of the fragility of NGOs' gains in the field of human rights, as the experiences of AI Canada in Kindler and of the CCC in Singh both show. Thompson's work also describes how NGO intervention is not without its costs. The CCLA and AI Canada, for instance, paid a substantial price in the form of adverse publicity and decreased donations, respectively, for being seen to side with odious individuals (whether a virulent racist or two violent criminals). In spite of these setbacks, the persistence of Singh, Keegstra, and Kindler in current debates on refugees, free expression, and capital punishment remains a legacy of the intervention and bold ideas of Canada's NGOs. -- Stephen Hsia * Osgoode Hall Law Journal Vol 49, No 2 * This is a well-crafted, subtle, and highly relevant though specialized contribution to human rights and security. Summing up: Highly recommended. -- M.D. Crosston, Bellevue University * CHOICE, Vol. 48, No. 09 * This book is an important addition to the literature on the evolution of human rights norms, the sociology of law, and Canadian politics. It is a first-rate study that adds a political dimension to the legalistic and historically oriented accounts of these issues.<br> - Alison Brysk, Mellichamp Professor, Global and International Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara Author InformationAndrew S. Thompson is an adjunct assistant professor of political science at the University of Waterloo. 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