The Company You Keep: International Socialization and the Diffusion of Human Rights Norms

Abstract

Does membership in Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) affect states’ human rights behavior? One might expect IGOs with a specific human rights mandate, like the International Labour Organization or the Council of Europe, to have a positive effect on the human rights practices of their member states. But what about other sorts of IGOs, particularly those with no direct connection to human rights issues? This study employs cross‐national data on abuses of “physical integrity rights” for 137 countries over the period 1982–2000 to test the hypothesis that IGOs can promote the diffusion of human rights norms by providing venues for interstate socialization. Recent empirical work on IGOs has suggested that this sort of socialization effect can play an important role in promoting democracy and can also lead to a more general convergence among states’ interests. The results presented here suggest that IGOs can have a surprisingly powerful influence on states’ human rights practices as a result of this process.

Constructed peer groups and path dependence in international organizations: The case of the international climate change negotiations

“…Bearce and Bondanella (2007) investigate whether common membership to intergovernmental organizations leads to interest convergence between members. Greenhill (2010) looks at the effect of membership on human rights practices of states.…”

Do international non-governmental organizations inhibit globalization? The case of capital account liberalization in developing countries

“…Our principal theoretical argument highlights the importance of stronger ties to the dominant norms of the INGO community itself rather than to the INGO community as a vehicle for linking countries to one another. As such, unlike some recent policy diffusion studies of shared ties to intergovernmental organizations (Cao, 2009;Greenhill, 2010), our measure does not seek to capture the relational aspect of INGO membership. Instead, we follow other empirical studies of INGO influence, which capture the effect of the dominant norms of the INGO community, whether comprehensive or sector-specific, by using the number of a country's ties to the INGO population.…”

“…Like the constructivist and learning approaches to policy diffusion, this suggests policymakers and citizens may be more inclined to pursue a policy used elsewhere because of general cultural shifts and views toward this approach (Weyland 2007;Dobbin, Simmons, and Garrett, 2007). Indeed, Murdie and Hicks (2013) (Henisz, Zelner, and Guillén, 2005;Polillo and Guillén, 2005) and on shared connections to intergovernmental organizations (Ingram, Robinson and Busch, 2005;Cao, 2009;Greenhill, 2010).…”

Prevention Cascade: The United States and the Diffusion of R2P

“…For example, Sikkink has described a process by which civil society 'norm entrepreneurs' (such as activists, NGOs, academics, or business leaders) exerted an impact on States and IGOs with respect to the spread of international criminal justice (Sikkink, 2011, pp. 24, 124;Finnemore and Sikkink, 1998, p. 898;Sugiyama, 2012;Greenhill, 2010;Cao, Greenhill, and Prakash, 2006).…”

“…Greenhill describes the 'socialization effects' that IGOs can have on the national participants in international institutions, demonstrating that membership in IGOs significantly improves states' human rights behavior with respect to personal integrity rights (Greenhill, 2010; also cf. Brysk, 1993).…”