Human rights have always proved to be a bit of a problem for political theory; recall Jeremy Bentham's famous dismissal of rights as nonsense – nonsense on stilts. The crisis in the discourse of rights, despite the widespread political acceptability the issue commands, is today much deeper than at any point in history. Political theorists seem to be wracked with doubts and hesitations when it comes to negotiating either the foundations or the legitimization of human rights. This is primarily because of the impact of the postmodern spirit, which rejects concepts of an essentialized human nature and the idea that universal and standard norms can be imposed on people without regard for the cultural distinctiveness of their societies.

Defenders of human rights therefore have had to battle cultural relativism and communitarianism as well as allegations that rights are a product of Eurocentric experiences and imaginations and therefore are imperialistic. Defenders of human rights have in short had to tread rather warily when it comes to human rights. For these reasons, they have felt the need to take seriously attacks on human rights as well as alternative formulations on what it means to be human. Above all, defenders of human rights have found that they need to respect criticisms, alternatives, and suggestions, in concert with each other, if they are committed to building a culture of human rights.