Geopolitics and norms: Latin America and the international human rights regime

Abstract

This article compares data on political regimes, international treaty ratification, and criminal indicators at the regional level to claim that Latin American countries are in a unique situation in the international system. Compared to other Global South regions, North America, and Europe, Latin America is a democratic region with the highest formal commitment to the international human rights regime yet has the highest levels of criminal activity. Other predominantly democratic regions do not experience the same problems related to criminal governance, such as state vulnerability and displaced populations. In addition, other regions where authoritarian regimes are the majority do not pretend to align with the principles of the international liberal order (ILO) as much as Latin America does. To explain this situation in the current context of challenges to the ILO, this article proposes the concept of geopolitics of norms to illustrate a dynamic in which nonmaterial factors such as identity explain norm adoption and adaptation in the region. We look at regional organizations and the adaptation of liberal human security principles to illustrate our point.