This book seeks to bring together in one place an account of the theory of human rights, an examination of the part they play in international relations; and, finally, a view of the part they ought to play — what states, and particularly the western states (which have some choice in the matter), should do about them in foreign policy. The book was begun at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, continued at Keele University and at the Australian National University in Canberra, and completed at Princeton University. In the course of writing it, I have incurred many debts. At Chatham House, I am grateful to William Wallace, from whom the invitation to write this book came, and whose encouragement throughout has been unwavering. Christopher Hill, with whom I shared a room at Chatham House during 1980–1, helped me form the questions the book asks, though he might not recognize either his contribution then or the questions now. At Keele, all the members of the Department of International Relations (and of some other departments) have had parts of the manuscript inflicted on them from time to time, and Christopher Brewin and Hidemi Suganami especially have challenged me to come up with a bolder and clearer statement of my position.