The merengue is internationally recognized as the Dominican Republic's national dance. It is an integral and unifying element of Dominican identity both within that nation and among emigrants abroad. Although Dominicans often make the claim that merengue has always been in their blood, the dance is relatively young, and its popularity among Dominicans of all social classes and ages is an even more recent occurrence. This book presents three convincing arguments about the merengue's longevity as a unifying symbol of Dominican identity: Dominican identity and the merengue have necessarily been...

This book celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nation's passage of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by showing how global human rights norms have influenced national government practices in eleven different countries around the world. Transnational human rights pressures and policies have made a significant difference in bringing about improvements in human rights practices in diverse countries around the world. The book describes a model of socialization processes that can be broadly applied to other processes and policy areas where global ideas have an impact on...