Introduction

Summary

This introduction states the basic thesis underpinning the entire book: over a period of two centuries, human dignity moved from the fringes to the centre of the international legal system. In a system shaped by another embodiment of dignity, sovereign dignity, human dignity came to nuance, then influence and, ultimately, fundamentally transform the very architecture of international law. The introduction summarizes the long and sinuous road followed by human dignity as a value and then as a norm. It then describes the analytical angle adopted in the book, and the overall organization of the demonstration.