Mobilizing for Human Rights: International Law in Domestic Politics
Cambridge University Press, 10/26/2011
EAN 9780521712323, ISBN10: 0521712327
Paperback, 472 pages, 23.4 x 15.6 x 2.4 cm
Language: English
This volume argues that international human rights law has made a positive contribution to the realization of human rights in much of the world. Although governments sometimes ratify human rights treaties, gambling that they will experience little pressure to comply with them, this is not typically the case. Focusing on rights stakeholders rather than the United Nations or state pressure, Beth Simmons demonstrates through a combination of statistical analyses and case studies that the ratification of treaties leads to better rights practices on average. Simmons argues that international human rights law should get more practical and rhetorical support from the international community as a supplement to broader efforts to address conflict, development, and democratization.
1. Introduction
2. Why international law? The development of the international human rights regime in the twentieth century
3. Theories of commitment
4. Theories of compliance
5. Civil rights
6. Equality for women
education, work, and reproductive rights
7. Humane treatment
the prevalence and prevention of torture
8. The protection of innocents
rights of the child
9. Conclusions.
'Mobilizing for Human Rights is a magisterial work of scholarship. It substantially advances our understanding of human rights law in domestic and international politics. Due to its exceptional rigor, this book will help settle some of the most highly contested debates, and will surely spark new ones. It constitutes an outstanding achievement for interdisciplinary studies.' Ryan Goodman, New York University School of Law