The Humanity of Universal Crime

Book excerpt: "Crimes against humanity" has become integral to contemporary political and legal discourse. However, the conceptual core of the term--an act offending all of mankind--has a longer and deeper history in international political thought. In an original excavation of this history, The Humanity of Universal Crime examines theoretical mobilizations of the idea of universal crime in colonial and post-colonial contexts. The book offers a novel view of how claims to act in the name of humanity are deeply steeped in practices that reproduce structures of inequality at a global level, particularly across political empires.