The Persistent Power of Human Rights

by Risse, Thomas; Ropp, Stephen C.; Sikkink, Kathryn

• ISBN13: 9781107609365
• ISBN10: 1107609364
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2013-04-15
• Publisher: Cambridge Univ Pr

Summary

'The Power of Human Rights' (published in 1999) was an innovative and influential contribution to the study of international human rights. At its center was a 'spiral model' of human rights change which described the various socialization processes through which international norms were internalized into the domestic practices of various authoritarian states during the Cold War years. 'The Persistent Power of Human Rights' builds on these insights, extending its reach and analysis. It updates our understanding of the various causal mechanisms and conditions which produce behavioural compliance, and expands the range of rights-violating actors examined to include democratic and authoritarian Great Powers, corporations, guerrilla groups, and private actors. Using a unique blend of quantitative and qualitative research and theory, this book yields not only important new academic insights but also a host of useful lessons for policy-makers and practitioners.

Table of Contents

Introduction and Stock-Taking:

Introduction and overview

The power of human rights a decade after: from euphoria to contestation?

From ratification to compliance: quantitative evidence on the spiral model

Conceptual and Methodological Issues:

Human rights in areas of limited statehood: the new agenda

The 'compliance gap' and the efficacy of international human rights institutions

Social mechanisms to promote international human rights: complementary or contradictory?

From Ratification to Compliance: States Revisited:

The normative context of human rights criticism: treaty ratification and UN mechanisms

The US and torture: does the spiral model work?

Resisting the power of human rights: the people's Republic of China

The 'Arab spring' and the spiral model: Tunisia and Morocco

From Commitment to Compliance: Companies, Rebel, Individuals:

Encouraging greater compliance: local networks and the United Nations global compact

Business and human rights: how corporate norm violators become norm entrepreneurs

Taming of the warlords: commitment and compliance by armed opposition groups in civil wars

Changing hearts and minds: sexual politics and human rights

Conclusions

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