Addressing how state representatives have to negotiate the tensions between international legal imperatives, the expectations of donors, the demands of institutions, as well as their own interests, State Violence and Human Rights addresses how legal practices - rooted in global human rights discourse or local demands - take hold in societies where issues of state violence remain to be resolved.

Introduction Andrew M. Jefferson and Steffen Jensen 1. The Politics of Palestinian Legal Reform: Judicial Independence and Accountability Under Occupation Tobias Kelly 2. Traditional Authority and Localization of State Law: The Intricacies of Boundary Making in Policing Rural Mozambique Helene Maria Kyed 3. The Vision of the State: Audiences, Enchantments and Policing in South Africa Steffen Jensen 4. Translating Human Rights in the Margins: A Police-Migrant Encounter in Johannesburg Julia Hornberger 5. The Special Field Force and Namibian Ex-Combatant 'Reintegration' Lalli Metsola 6. On Hangings and the Dubious Embodiment of Statehood in Nigerian Prisons Andrew M. Jefferson 7. Taking the Snake out of the Basket - Indian Prison Warders' Opposition to Human Rights Reform Tomas Martin 8. Community Policing Programmes as Police Human Rights Strategies in Costa Rica Quirine Eijkman 9. Commentary: The Piggy-in-the-Middle Mike Brogden