Applying the Lens of Transnational Advocacy Networks to Human Rights Litigation

Abstract

“Transnational advocacy networks” as defined by Keck and Sikkink help diffuse international human rights norms and thereby change the behavior of states. Abolition of the death penalty and protection of LGBT rights are in a process of norm emergence, and global networks of non-governmental organizations and activists are creating alliances across borders and partnering with organizations on the ground to diffuse these norms. One type of transnational advocacy network involves lawyers in transnational litigation networks, who seek to bring strategic human rights cases with the purpose of building a global body of transnational jurisprudence. Organizations such as the London-based Death Penalty Project and Human Dignity Trust have embraced a transnational litigation strategy to ensure state compliance and generate an international consensus to abolish the mandatory death penalty and anti-sodomy laws in the Commonwealth.