The Company You Keep: International Socialization and the Diffusion of Human Rights Norms

Does membership in Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) affect states' human rights behavior? One might expect IGOs with a specific human rights mandate, like the International Labour Organization or the Council of Europe, to have a positive effect on the human rights practices of their member states. But what about other sorts of IGOs, particularly those with no direct connection to human rights issues? This study employs cross-national data on abuses of "physical integrity rights" for 137 countries over the period 1982–2000 to test the hypothesis that IGOs can promote the diffusion of human rights norms by providing venues for interstate socialization. Recent empirical work on IGOs has suggested that this sort of socialization effect can play an important role in promoting democracy and can also lead to a more general convergence among states' interests. The results presented here suggest that IGOs can have a surprisingly powerful influence on states' human rights practices as a result of this process.     

国际人权公约与人权保护——国内司法实施的分析

国际人权公约设定了国家对个人的义务。在国内层面上 ,缔约国应采取立法、司法等措施履行国际人权公约规定的义务。缔约国国内层面的实施是国际人权公约实施的基础和关键。国际人权公约能否在缔约国国内法院得到直接适用 ,是由各国国内法予以决定的。按照我国法律 ,国际人权公约基本上不能在国内法院得以直接适用。     

Domestic Judicial Institutions and Human Rights Treaty Violation

Democratic and autocratic states routinely violate their international agreements protecting human rights. Scholars typically link ratification and compliance behavior theoretically but test their models separately; however, if the behaviors are jointly determined then we should treat them that way empirically. We consider how domestic judiciaries influence the joint choice to ratify and comply with international human rights regimes. Using data on the ratification status of states under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), states' torture practices, and a series of measures of judicial effectiveness, we examine whether legal institutions are likely to constrain state behavior and by implication raise the costs of ratification.     

规范与国际制度安排:一种建构主义阐释

建构主义相信 ,国际制度像其它社会事物一样 ,也是由行为体在社会实践中建构出来的。因此 ,它在分析国际制度安排时 ,与强调物质力量的理性主义不同 ,注重信念的作用。它认为 ,信念根植于社会实践 ,并在社会实践中得以再塑 ,所以具有主体间性 ,而规范就是体现这种主体间性的信念的具体形式。规范是一个行为集体拥有的关于适当行为的共享期望 ,不但界定行为的合适性和有效性 ,还赋予行为体社会角色和建构社会环境 ,从而形塑行为体的收益 ,促使行为体重设目标和调整行为 ,最终影响国际制度的形成。     

Advancing women's reproductive and sexual health rights: Using the International Human Rights system

Often the primary barriers to improving women's health are rooted in socio-economic, legal, and cultural factors. Women are generally assigned subordinate status in terms of economic power, decision making, and options regarding education, work, and family. National laws often restrict or prohibit equality and choice within society. Thus, the improvement of reproductive health is not only a matter of effective health interventions, but also a matter of social justice and human rights. This article discusses how the International Human Rights (IHR) system can be used more effectively for the protection and promotion of reproductive rights. In particular, it focuses on how IHR treaties can play an important role in fostering state compliance with rights relating to reproductive and sexual health. It ends with a discussion on how NGO advocacy work can better collaborate with the treaty body monitoring process in order to advance women's reproductive rights.     

论盖卡卡法庭与卢旺达国际刑事法庭及其在国际人权保护中的作用

1994年 ,卢旺达有 80万～ 1 0 0万人丧命于旨在灭绝图西族的部族大屠杀中。冲突之后 ,约有 1 0 6万人面临种族灭绝的指控 ,但审判系统却因大屠杀而被严重削弱。国际社会和卢旺达政府一致认为 :重建司法体系和保护人权是卢国家重建的重要条件。联合国成立卢旺达国际刑事法庭审理卢境内的种族灭绝和严重违反人道主义的罪行。为了弥补传统司法程序在处理这一人数众多案件中的不足 ,卢旺达启用了盖卡卡法庭。卢国际刑事法庭与盖卡卡法庭在人权的国际保护中做出了很大贡献 ,却也还存在一些缺陷     

International Institutions and GHG

Globalization is pushing public health crises beyond traditional national boundaries. It has also transformed international health governance into global health governance. Health security is one aspect of global public welfare. International institutions, such as the WHO, the WTO, the World Bank, and the BWC, are main providers of global public welfare for health. However, those institutions＇ role in global health governance is not optimized. An analysis of the shortcomings of the international institutions concerned with global heath can contribute to better global health governance. Some tentative solutions to such problems are put forward in this paper.     

Norms in International Relations: Some Conceptual and Methodological Reflections

Acknowledging the social constructivist turn in the study of norms, this article offers to demonstrate that the notion of norms is useful as an analytical tool and likely to become a lasting element in international relations theory. Ideational causality and the independent explanatory power of norms are methodological issues that have been debated widely. Despite arguing that norms matter, social constructivism has problems making a successful case for the independent influence of norms. This article explores social constructivism as an approach to understanding international norms and their origins.     

Simulating the Creation of a New International Human Rights Treaty: Active Learning in the International Studies Classroom

This article details a simulation of formulating a new international human rights treaty designed for an introductory international studies course. Student understanding and interest in a range of international relations topics—including diplomacy, two –level games, international law, human rights, and group decision making—are reinforced by actively engaging the students in policy formulation and state –to –state negotiations. The article is structured around the four key components of active learning approaches—educational objectives, design parameters, procedures, and assessment and debriefing—in order to provide a full understanding of the goals, set –up, process, and advantages of the simulation. The simulation has been successfully run multiple times at both a large state university and a small liberal arts institution. Supportive student feedback and an interesting variety of outcomes indicate that this simulation is a positive addition to the course and reinforces the use of active learning approaches in the international studies classroom.     

国际制度设计中的规范与理性

国际制度设计日益成为当代国际关系中一项重要的议事日程和研究议程.现有的研究成果主要集中在理性主义的研究范式之内,忽视了社会规范因素在国际制度设计中的重要作用.本文借鉴组织社会学中新制度学派的理论,探讨了规范在国际制度设计中的作用,指出强意义合法性机制与弱意义合法性机制是国际制度设计中规范与理性相互作用的两种形式.强意义合法性机制是指构成性规范通过塑造行为体的思维方式和社会身份,进而成为国际制度设计中行为体无需考虑就加以接受的"理性神话".弱意义合法性机制是指限制性规范通过影响行为体利益计算的方式作用于国际制度设计的过程,行为体出于对声誉和责任方面的考虑,会限制一些纯粹出于物质利益追求的国际制度设计行为.     

“人权与国际关系”中青年学者研讨会在京举行

由中国国际问题研究所主办的“人权与国际关系”中青年学者研讨会于５月１７日在京举行。来自中国人权研究会、中国社科院、现代国际关系研究所、中国国际问题研究所等国际问题研究机构和北京大学、中国人民大学、中央党校、外交学院等高校以及外交部、中联部等国家机关的中青年学者和外事工作者共４０多人,从人权与国际关系的理论和历史、人权在外交政策中的表现及对策两个方面,分别就人权与主权的相互关系、人权的国际机制、西方“人道主义干涉”的理论与实践以及发展中国家的人权观念及政策等问题展开了深入研讨。会议在首都学术界引起较…     

冷战后国际政治中人权与主权的关系

国际政治,尽管纷繁复杂、曲折多变,但权力政治与权利政治的较量,始终作为一条主线贯穿其中。冷战结束后,权利政治上升为矛盾的主要方面。主权与人权的关系变得更为突出。主权与人权是紧密相连的两大政治权利,两权并重,应同时充实和完善,不可偏废;两权相辅相成,既相互依托又相互制约,不可分割,更不能相互对立;两权内外相交(即主要属于国内问题,又具有国际性),既一致又有区别,不可混淆,更不能相互排斥。正确处理主权与人权的关系,除不断加强自身建设外,同时必须反对霸权主义在此问题上的“双重标准”,揭露“人权高于主权”错误论调的用心。     

论国际人权条约实施的国际监督制度

国际监督制度对于人权条约的实施在实体和程序方面都具有重要的意义.国际人权条约实施的国际监督制度主要由条约机构的缔约国报告程序、缔约国间指控来文程序以及个人申诉来文程序三种国际监督程序所组成.在实践中,条约机构主要依据缔约国报告程序和个人申诉来文程序对缔约国实施人权条约进行经常性和具体的监督.国际监督制度在促进缔约国实施人权条约方面发挥了一定的作用,但仍有待进一步完善.     

The Contributions of International Exchange and Cooperation to the Human Rights Studies in China

Since the foundation of the People＇s Republic of China in 1949, the human rights situation in China has changed dramatically. Especially in the past three decades, along with the reform and opening-up and the remarkable political, economic, legal, social and cultural developments, the human rights cause in China has also made great achievements. In the development of human rights cause,     

Boomerangs and Superpowers: International Norms,Transnational Networks and US Foreign Policy

The complex relationship between international norms and transational networks of non-state actors is gaining increasing attention in international relations theory. This paper argues that transnational networks of non-state actors gain greater access to and influence over states when they identify with international norms that the states themselves have formally accepted--even if that formal acceptance did not initally reflect any serious intention to implement or monitor the norm in question. This process has been called the 'boomering effect'. The resulting redefinitions of state interests raise the diplomatic salience of the norm in question, and thereby increase its effectiveness. The article illustrates this process with a study of changes in the US foreign policy towards Soviet and Eastern European compliance with the human rights norms of the Helsinki Accords in the mid-late 1970s.     

Transnational Terror and Human Rights

Do terrorist attacks by transnational groups lead governments to restrict human rights? Conventional wisdom holds that governments restrict rights to forestall additional attacks, to more effectively pursue suspected terrorists, and as an excuse to suppress their political opponents. But the logic connecting terrorist attacks to subsequent repression and the empirical research that addresses this issue suffer from important flaws. We analyze pooled data on the human rights behavior of governments from 1981 to 2003. Our key independent variable of interest is transnational terrorist attacks, and the analysis also controls for factors that existing studies have found influence respect for human rights. Repeated terrorist attacks lead governments to engage in more extrajudicial killings and disappearances, but have no discernable influence on government use of torture and of political imprisonment or on empowerment rights such as freedom of speech, assembly, and religion. This finding has important implications for how we think about the effects of terrorism and the policy responses of states, non-governmental organizations, and international institutions interested in protecting human rights.