by Charles R. Epp



Product Description:

It is well known that the scope of individual rights has expanded
dramatically in the United States over the last half-century. Less well
known is that other countries have experienced "rights revolutions" as
well. Charles R. Epp argues that, far from being the fruit of an activist
judiciary, the ascendancy of civil rights and liberties has rested on the
democratization of access to the courts--the influence of advocacy groups,
the establishment of governmental enforcement agencies, the growth of
financial and legal resources for ordinary citizens, and the strategic
planning of grass roots organizations. In other words, the shift in the
rights of individuals is best understood as a "bottom up," rather than a
"top down," phenomenon.

The Rights Revolution is the first comprehensive and comparative analysis
of the growth of civil rights, examining the high courts of the United
States, Britain, Canada, and India within their specific constitutional
and cultural contexts. It brilliantly revises our understanding of the
relationship between courts and social change.

Product Details

Paperback: 342 pages
Publisher: University of Chicago Press (October 15, 1998)
ISBN: 0226211622