The 1990’s was a remarkable period in experiencing the unravelling of a world order that has characterised much of the twentieth century, and in revealing the contradictory tendencies towards and trends in the making of a new social contract between and within societies in the post cold war era.
This period witnessed a new awakening in human rights understanding as disempowered ordinary people around the world gained direct access to the international human rights system which offered a repertoire of normative standards for legitimate claim making beyond the national state.