A social psychology of human rights rooted in asymmetric intergroup relations.

Abstract

Reflecting the increasing importance of human rights (HR) in legal theory and socialscientific research, psychologists and social scientists have developed an increased interest in the topic. Although the first systematic social psychological research that explicitly deals with HR dates back to the 1990s, particularly that of Willem Doise and his colleagues (Doise, 2002), researchers have recently rediscovered both the political and the scientific importance of a social psychological analysis of HR. The present special issue is a timely and powerful statement of the relevance of a psychological analysis of HR and their role in everyday thinking regarding social inequality, intergroup injustice, and widespread suffering stemming from armed conflict, intergroup violence, and rightsviolating authorities. It thereby also reflects a growing awareness of global issues among psy