Larry Gostin brings together the finest civil libertarians and humanists from both sides of the Atlantic in Civil Liberties in Conflict (originally published in 1988) in which he and his contributors engage with the charged issues of public order, racism, pornography, and national security. The book is unique in its point/counterpoint analysis of the constitutional structures, court decisions, and governments in two of the most robust democracies in the west—the US and the UK.
A valuable source for students of political sociology, philosophy, and law, Civil Liberties in Conflict is a volume which every concerned citizen should read; it touches every aspect of our life—our government, courts, police, and our freedoms.
Foreword by The Honorable Williams J. Brennan, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Foreword by The Right Honorable Lord Scarman OBE, House of Lords
Editor’s Introduction
Part I: Collective and Individual Rights
1. Towards resolving the conflict
Larry Gostin
2. Rights and political conflict
John Dunn
3. Preserving public protest: the legal approach
Denis Galligan
4. Trade unions and their members
Clyde Summers
5. Affirmative action
Drew S. Days
6. Politics, socialism, and civil liberties
Bernard Crick
Part 2: Free expression and freedom of information
Editor’s notes: The conflicting views of two national civil liberties organizations
7. Is there a right to stop offensive speech? The case of the Nazis at Skokie
Norman Dorsen
8. The spider and the fly: a question of principle
Stephen Sedley
Editor’s notes: Unravelling the conflict
9. Pornography, sex discrimination, and free speech
Cass R. Sunstein
10. Pornography and free speech: the civil rights approach
Barry Lynn
11. National security and freedom of information
Sarah McCabe
Biography
Larry Gostin is Distinguished University Professor at Georgetown University and Faculty Director of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. A globally recognized authority in health law, he directs the WHO Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law and is an elected lifetime Member of the National Academy of Medicine. Prof. Gostin has shaped policy through multiple epidemics from AIDS SARS, and Influenza H1N1 to Ebola, MERS, Zika, and mpox to pandemic COVID-19, advised world leaders, and authored award-winning books.
