In our world of 193 sovereign nation-states, who truly has the “right to have rights”? What do we mean by human rights? And how do we actually obtain rights? These are the three issues that animate Professor Eric D. Weitz’s new book A World Divided: The Global Struggle for Human Rights in the Age of Nation-States (Princeton University Press,2019). In histories drawn from virtually every continent, Weitz shows how nationalists have struggled to establish their own states, granting human rights to some people while excluding others through forced assimilation, ethnic cleansing, or genocide. Eric D. Weitz teaches History at CCNY and the Graduate Center. Professor Weitz will discuss his book with Spitzer Professor Rajan Menon of the Department of Political Science at CCNY.