With the end of the Cold War economic issues moved to the fore of the international agenda. The integration of markets, dominated by multinational corporations and orchestrated by international financial institutions, has many concerned for the political and economic rights of the common citizen. This is a comprehensive cross-national study examining the effect of globalization on the attainment of the subgroup of human rights known as personal integrity rights. The impact of global economic patterns on the attainment of these rights is mixed.The post-Cold War international political economy accentuates the confluence between the state and the global market. Scholars, politicians, and economists debate the repercussions of globalization on the autonomy of the state and the health of the economy. The speed and quantity of capital flows, communications, international trade, and technological transfers has led many to proclaim not only the eradication of state sovereignty but also "the end of geography" O'Brien, 1992! as "one dominant global economic system is emerging"~Sachs and Warner, 1995:1!. Unfortunately, the place of human rights in this unfolding global order is uncertain. 1 If, as many scholars claim, the sovereignty of the state is threatened by the power of multinational corporations~MNC! we must ask how MNC activities affect the rights of citizens. Paradoxically, the state is both the agent charged with the protection and promotion of human rights and the primary violator of human rights.This study examines how globalization affects the attainment of human rights standards. Will globalizing actors, such as multinational corporations and international financial institutions, counterbalance the excesses of abusive governments by exporting human rights expectations and practices or will the expansion of global markets simply multiply the exploitation of hapless citizens?Author's note: I would like to thank Rob Blanton, Nick Onuf, and Francois Debrix for their advice, explanations, and suggestions. 1 The elements of globalization, international trade, technological transfers, and international capital flows are not new to human civilization-nations have been trading with each other, exchanging information, technology, and commodities for a millennium. In fact, many economists believe our contemporary global economy resembles the world's economy of 100 years ago~Fischer, 1995; Sachs and Warner, 1995; Rodrik, 1997!. What is new with contemporary economic globalization is the speed, quantity, and comprehensiveness of these flows.International Studies Quarterly~2001! 45, 587-602.