In The First Right, Brad Simpson narrates the global history of the idea of self-determination in international politics from the 1940s through the end of the twentieth century. He argues that there was no one version of self-determination, but a century-long contest between contending visions of sovereignty and rights. He shows that self-determination’s meaning has often emerged from the claims of movements and peoples on the margins of international society. Over the course of the 20th Century Pacific Island territories, Indigenous peoples, regional and secessionist movements, and transnational solidarity groups, among others, offered expansive visions of economic, political, and cultural sovereignty ranging far beyond the movement for decolonization with which they are often associated. As they did so, these movements and groups helped to vernacularize self-determination as a language of social justice and rights for people around the world.
Brad Simpson is Professor of History and Asian Studies at the University of Connecticut, where he has taught since 2013. Prior to joining UConn, he served as Assistant Professor of History and Public Policy at Princeton University from 2008 to 2013. Earlier appointments include Assistant Professor positions at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (2005–2008) and Idaho State University (2003–2005).
He received his PhD in U.S. History from Northwestern University in 2003 and his BA in International Relations from Georgetown University.
At UConn, Simpson holds a joint appointment in the Department of History and in Asian and Asian American Studies, the latter housed within the Department of Social and Critical Inquiry. He currently serves as Head of Asian and Asian American Studies and is a proud member of the UConn AAUP union.
Beyond the university, Simpson is a lifetime member of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations and is the founder and director of the Indonesia and East Timor Documentation Project at the National Security Archive.
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