The Effectiveness of Human Rights

Abstract

This chapter surveys existing theories of the effectiveness of human rights, and notes that several prominent accounts have adopted either a ‘top down’ or a ‘bottom up’ theory of effectiveness, emphasizing either external intervention or grassroots mobilization as the primary motor of change. The experimentalist theory advanced in this chapter and throughout the book, however, argues that the effectiveness of much human rights law and advocacy comes neither primarily from top-down intervention nor primarily from bottom-up action but through the iterative interaction between multiple actors, norms and institutions situated at different levels within and outside the state. Building on an emerging scholarship from political scientists, anthropologists, and human rights practitioners, the chapter advances an experimentalist account of international human rights law and advocacy, and introduces the three case studies of human rights campaigns which will be discussed in subsequent chapters. The experimentalist account emphasizes the crucial importance of social mobilization and civil society activism, but argues that the interaction of domestic activism with international accountability institutions is particularly effective in promoting human rights.