Human Rights Abused? Terrorist Labeling and Individual Reactions to Call to Action

Abstract

What leads individuals to be motivated to act for human rights causes? Human rights organizations (HROs) often use personal and emotional stories of the abused in order to gain the attention of individuals reading newspapers or emails directly from the organization. McEntire, Leiby, and Krain show that personal frames are most successful at increasing knowledge about a specific human rights situation and motivating individuals to act. However, HROs are not operating in a political vacuum; repressive governments often try to spin information about abuses and the abused to their advantage. This study uses an experimental approach to address how the discursive interactions between states and HROs influence individual-level support of HRO efforts. When governments respond to HRO claims by labeling the abused as a terrorist, individuals are much less likely to be spurred into certain types of action, like signing a petition, and feel differently about the specific case. Interestingly, we do not find that trust in the information provided by an HRO is harmed by being associated with someone labeled a terrorist.

Named and Shamed: International Advocacy and Public Support for Repressive Leaders

“…The authors show that personalist frames are the most effective at garnering opposition to sleep deprivation torture techniques. Adding nuance to these findings, Bracic and Murdie (2020) also show that personalist campaigns are effective, but that respondents are less receptive to these efforts when the government has labeled the victim of human rights abuse a terrorist. Haines et al (2020) find that personalist campaigns can increase sympathy for victims while also increasing support for retributive violence.…”

The Domestic Impact of International Shaming

“…Indeed, our respondents display strong support for human rights, while the support for climate action is more divided ( Supplementary Material figures A5 and A6 ). Another reason might be that human rights violations evoke stronger emotional reactions than noncompliance in other areas of global governance ( Bracic and Murdie 2019 ).…”

Why the Public Supports the Human Rights of Prisoners and Asylum Seekers: An Experimental Approach

“…For example, human rights principles are often framed as detrimental to security. A recent study found that individuals are less likely to be mobilized for human rights if the individual tortured is labeled a terrorist (Bracic and Murdie 2020). Similarly, support for free speech may diminish if there is an external threat (Dietrich and Crabtree 2019).…”