ABSTRACT
Human rights can be rooted in the Enlightenment period, and arguably earlier. Yet as a focus of academic inquiry, human rights gained legitimacy only after World War II. In an effort to promote the integration of various disciplinary approaches within a consistent methodological and normative framework, this chapter argues for Kantian and critical theory guidelines to inform the study and practice of human rights. It begins by considering the reasons for changing perspectives on human rights since World War II. The chapter addresses the more recent efforts to incorporate history and political theory within the field of human rights, and offers a methodological toolkit aimed at strengthening the interdisciplinary study of human rights. From the time of the Declaration of Human Rights until late 1960s, the Cold War revealed its ugly geopolitical face. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the progress of globalisation, a forth milestone in the journey of the field, human rights gained new international currency.
