Marie-Claire Foblets is Director of the Department of Law and Anthropology at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle, Germany and Professor of Law at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. Michele Graziadei is Professor of Comparative Law at the University of Turin, Italy and President of the Italian Society for Research on Comparative Law (SIRD). Alison Dundes Renteln is Professor of Political Science, Anthropology, Law, and Public Policy at the University of Southern California, where she teaches International Law and Human Rights.
'This rich Volume not only invites – but forces – the reader to critically reflect on the meaning of liberalism, in a liberal democracy, in relation to the notions of personal autonomy and human rights. Whatever has been taken for granted turns out to be much more complicated when contrasted with the needs in a pluralistic society. The Volume is a warmly recommended reading for anyone concerned about the limits of cultural diversity.' Maarit Jänterä-Jareborg, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult., Professor of Private International Law and International Civil Procedure, Uppsala University, Sweden 'In principle, personal autonomy should be a useful idea to navigate the troubled waters of contemporary plural societies. But what happens if that rudder is itself culturally conditioned? Is it still personal autonomy to stay the course? These are the main questions that this book seeks to answer.' Carlos Gómez Martínez, Judge in the Court of Appeal of the Balearic Islands