A Data Set for Human Rights Research

Suny At Binghamton, Binghamton NY

Investigators

Abstract

Much of the previous theory building and empirical research concerning government respect for human rights has attempted to explain why some governments respect the human rights of their citizens while others do not. In each case, the focus has been on trying to explain why governments respect a particular right or a single category of human rights. No study has tried to explain government variations in respect for the full range of internationally recognized human rights. While there is general agreement that all governments respect some human rights more than others, our ability to understand the reasons why, and ways in which, government respect for different human rights varies is hindered by the lack of a unified theory. Thus, this proposal asks, "When a government allows its citizens to enjoy some human rights but not others, what rights are most likely to be withheld from citizens and why?" To answer this question, this proposal offers a destabilization theory of government respect for human rights suggesting that governments are most willing to respect those rights that pose the least threat to the economic privileges of elites. Several testable hypotheses are derived from this theoretical framework. Using a probabilistic, one-dimensional, cumulative scaling technique on existing data, results of a pretest already have provided support for these hypotheses. This research allows for a more stringent test of the hypotheses, utilizing a substantially larger set of cases and more comprehensive information about government respect for the human rights recognized in international law. The project produces a unique database of information describing government respect for approximately 30 different internationally recognized human rights in 160 countries from 1981 to 2002. This database will be made immediately and freely available through a unique internet-based distribution system allowing users to create their own subsets online and download them in their choice of popular file formats. The availability of the dataset resulting from this project via a unique internet-based distribution system will permit policy-makers, scholar-researchers, non-governmental and international organizations, and students to conceive and engage in a never-before-possible range of studies involving a full range of internationally recognized human rights. The project contributes beyond basic research by promoting a better understanding of the ways governments respect and violate human rights. Perhaps the greatest challenge currently facing the US government is attaining an accurate understanding of the global security environment. Low levels of respect for the human rights by governments around the world often increases resentment towards the US government, which, in turn, reduces the security of the United States from external threats. Greater understanding of the patterns of human rights abuse by governments around the world may suggest strategies for reducing human rights abuses and, thereby, improving the global security environment. For example, policy makers will be able to use the data to help assess the impacts of public policies such as development assistance on government respect for specific types of human rights such as women's rights and workers' rights. This will help them understand and ultimately affect the international security environment.