Book excerpt: Anthony Woodiwiss's pathbreaking book was the first substantive contribution to a sociology of human rights. In it, he takes up the question of whether so-called Asian values are compatible with human rights discourse and argues against human rights issues being the major obstacle to East-West co-operation. Dr Woodiwiss's sociological and post-structuralist approach to the concept of rights, and his incorporation of the transnational dimension into sociological theory, enable him to demonstrate how the global human rights regime can accommodate Asian patriarchalism, while Pacific Asia is itself adapting by means of what he calls 'enforceable benevolence'. His studies of Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore highlight similarities between Pacific-Asian and Western societies and offer a positive view of the social forces obtaining in these territories.