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This seminar course will explore the nation building elements that must be in place in a state emerging from a period of state oppression or armed conflict in order for that state to become a society where human rights are respected. In the course we will examine the concepts of international human rights, democracy, rule of law, constitutionalism, self-determination, civil society, gender justice and minority rights, and the role these factors play, individually and in combination, in creating and maintaining an emergent society that respects international human rights. We will consider the role of a number of devices designed to aid broken societies transition to rights respecting ones, including truth and reconciliation commissions, judicial intervention, and collective action under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.