Preface -- Introduction: "Area Expressions" and the Universality of Human Rights: Mediating a Contingent Relationship -- 1 The Civilizational Geography of Government Respect for Human Rights, 1981-99 -- 2 Does Region Matter in Provision of the Human Right to Physical Integrity? An Empirical Examination -- 3 The Margin of Appreciation Doctrine of the European Court of Human Rights: Accommodating Diversity within Europe -- 4 Between Delight and Despair: The Effects of Transnational Women's Networks in the Balkans -- 5 The Role of Democracy in the Protection of Human Rights: Lessons from the European and Inter-American Human Rights Systems -- 6 African Women, Traditions, and Human Rights: A Critical Analysis of Contemporary "Universal" Discourses and Approaches -- 7 Human Rights and Child Labor in South Asia -- 8 Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples in Africa and Asia -- 9 Promoting Women's Rights against Patriarchal Cultural Claims: The Women's Convention and Reservations by Muslim States -- 10 The Status of Human Rights in the Middle East: Prospects and Challenges -- 11 Ethnic Constitutional Order and Human Rights: Historical and Comparative Analysis -- Conclusion: Rights, Practices and "Area Studies" -- Contributors -- Index