Human rights and development: an international political economy perspective

Lucena, Cristiane

Abstract

This research note provides a critical review of the recent literature on the consequences of development and democratization for the protection of human rights. It identifies common lessons and grounds for further research in the field. This literature takes a series of paradoxes that challenge conventional wisdom regarding the relationship between development and democratization as its starting point, on one hand, and the protection of human rights, on the other. To that effect, several unintended adverse consequences of economic development and movements toward democracy for the protection of civil and political rights are identified. The literature focuses on rights to physical integrity, leaving important questions unanswered when it comes to civil liberties and second-generation rights. The article systematizes new knowledge produced by this literature, translates it into recommendations for research and identifies opportunities for new investigations.

Human rights; development; democratization

ABOUHARB, Rodwan and CINGRANELLI, David. (2006), "The Human Rights Effects of World Bank Structural Adjustment, 1981-2000." International Studies Quarterly 50(2), pp. 233-262.
ALESINA, Alberto and DOLLAR, David. (2000), "Who Gives Foreign Aid to Whom and Why?" Journal of Economic Growth 5(1), pp. 33-63.
BUENO DE MESQUITA, Bruce and SMITH, Alastair. (2007), "Foreign Aid and Policy Concessions." Journal of Conflict Resolution 51(2), pp. 251.
BUENO DE MESQUITA, Bruce and SMITH, Alastair. (2009), "A Political Economy of Aid." International Organization 63(2), pp. 309-340.
BUENO DE MESQUITA, Bruce and SMITH, Alastair. (2010), "Leader Survival, Revolutions, and the Nature of Government Finance." American Journal of Political Science 54(4), pp. 936-950.
BUENO DE MESQUITA, Bruce; DOWNS, George; SMITH, Alastair; CHERIF, Feryal. (2005a), "Thinking Inside the Box: A Closer Look at Democracy and Human Rights." International Studies Quarterly 49(3), pp. 439-458.
BUENO DE MESQUITA, Bruce and DOWNS, George. (2005b), "Development and Democracy." Foreign Affairs 84(5), pp. 77-86.
BUENO DE MESQUITA, Bruce; MORROW, James; SIVERSON, Randolph; SMITH, Alastair. (2001), "Political Competition and Economic Growth." Journal of Democracy 12(1), pp. 58-72.
BUENO DE MESQUITA, Bruce; SMITH, Alastair, SIVERSON, Randolph; MORROW, James. (2003), The Logic of Political Survival Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
CAMP KEITH, Linda and POE, Steven C. (2000), "The United States, the IMF, and Human Rights". In David Forsythe, Ed. The United States and Human Rights Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press.
CARNEIRO, C. Lucena and ELDEN, Dominique. (2009), "Economic Sanctions, Leadership Survival, and Human Rights." University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law 30(3).
DAVENPORT, Christian. (2004), "The Promise of Democratic Pacification: An Empirical Assessment." International Studies Quarterly 48(3), pp. 539-560.
DOLLAR, David and COLLIER, Paul. (2002), "Aid Allocation and Poverty Reduction." European Economic Review 46(8), pp. 1475-500.
DOLLAR, David and LEVIN, Victoria. (2006), "The Increasing Selectivity of Foreign Aid, 1984-2003." World Development 34(12), pp. 2034-46.
EASTERLY, William. (2002), The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists' Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
EASTERLY, William. (2006), The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good London: Penguin Press.
EASTERLY, William; LEVINE, Ross; ROODMAN, David. (2004), "Aid, Policies, and Growth: Comment." American Economic Review 94(3), pp. 774-80.
ESCRIBA-FOLCH, Abel and WRIGHT, Joseph. (2010), "Dealing with Tyranny: International Sanctions and the Survival of Authoritarian Rulers." International Studies Quarterly Vol. 54, pp. 335-359.
FRANKLIN, James. (1997), "IMF Conditionality, Threat Perception, and Political Repression: A Cross-National Analysis." Comparative Political Studies Vol. 30, pp. 576-606.
HAFNER-BURTON, Emilie. (2005), "Trading Human Rights: How Preferential Trade Agreements Influence Government Repression." International Organization 59 (Summer), pp. 593-629.
HAFNER-BURTON, Emilie. (2009), Forced to Be Good: Why Trade Agreements Boost Human Rights Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
HAFNER-BURTON, Emilie. (2013), Making Human Rights a Reality. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
HENDERSON, Conway. (1996), "Dependency and Political Repression: A Caveat on Research Expectations." D. L. Cingranelli, Ed. Human Rights and Developing Countries Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
LANDMAN, Todd. (2005), Protecting Human Rights: A Comparative Study, Advancing Human Rights. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press.
MILNER, Wesley; LEBLANG, David; POE, Steven. (2004), "Providing Subsistence Rights: Do States Make a Difference?" Sabine Carey and Steven Poe, Eds. The Systematic Study of Human Rights Burlington, NY: Ashgate.
MEYER, William H. (1996), "Human Rights and MNCs: Theory versus Quantitative Analysis." Human Rights Quarterly Vol. 18, pp. 368-397.
MEYER, William H. (1998), Human Rights and International Political Economy in Third World Nations Westport, CT: Praeger.
MORAVCSIK, Andrew. (2000), "The Origins of Human Rights Regimes: Democratic Delegation in Postwar Europe." International Organization 54(2), pp. 217-252.
PEKSEN, Dursun. (2009), "Better or Worse? The Effect of Economic Sanctions on Human Rights." Journal of Peace Research 46(1), pp. 59-77.
PEKSEN, Dursun and DRURY A. C. (2009), "Economic Sanctions and Political Repression: Assessing the Impact of Coercive Diplomacy on Political Freedoms." Human Rights Review 10(3), pp. 393-411.
PION-BERLIN, David. (1984), "The Political Economy of State Repression in Argentina." Michael Stohl and George Lopez, Eds. The State as a Terrorist: The Dynamics of Governmental Violence and Repression Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
POE, Steven; TATE, Neal Tate; CAMP KEITH, Linda. (1999), "Repression of the Human Right to Physical Integrity Revisited: A Global Cross-National Study Covering the Years 1976-1993. International Studies Quarterly Vol. 43, pp. 291-313.
RICHARDS, David; GELLENY, Ronald; SACKO, David. (2001), "Money with a Mean Streak? Foreign Economic Penetration and Government Respect for Human Rights in Developing Countries." International Studies Quarterly 45, pp. 219-239.
SACHS, Jeffrey and WARNER, Andrew. (2001), "The Curse of Natural Resources." European Economic Review 45(4-6), pp. 827-38.
SACHS, Jeffrey. (2005), The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time New York: Penguin Books.
SIMMONS, Beth. (2009), Mobilizing for Human Rights: International Law in Domestic Politics Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
WOOD, Reed M. (2008), "A Hand upon the Throat of the Nation: Economic Sanctions and State Repression." International Studies Quarterly 52, pp. 489-513.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
21 Feb 2014
Date of issue
2013

History

Received
Nov 2012
Accepted
Aug 2013

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

[1] ABOUHARB, Rodwan and CINGRANELLI, David. (2006), "The Human Rights Effects of World Bank Structural Adjustment, 1981-2000." International Studies Quarterly 50(2), pp. 233-262.

[2] ALESINA, Alberto and DOLLAR, David. (2000), "Who Gives Foreign Aid to Whom and Why?" Journal of Economic Growth 5(1), pp. 33-63.

[3] BUENO DE MESQUITA, Bruce and SMITH, Alastair. (2007), "Foreign Aid and Policy Concessions." Journal of Conflict Resolution 51(2), pp. 251.

[4] BUENO DE MESQUITA, Bruce and SMITH, Alastair. (2009), "A Political Economy of Aid." International Organization 63(2), pp. 309-340.

[5] BUENO DE MESQUITA, Bruce and SMITH, Alastair. (2010), "Leader Survival, Revolutions, and the Nature of Government Finance." American Journal of Political Science 54(4), pp. 936-950.

[6] BUENO DE MESQUITA, Bruce; DOWNS, George; SMITH, Alastair; CHERIF, Feryal. (2005a), "Thinking Inside the Box: A Closer Look at Democracy and Human Rights." International Studies Quarterly 49(3), pp. 439-458.

[7] BUENO DE MESQUITA, Bruce and DOWNS, George. (2005b), "Development and Democracy." Foreign Affairs 84(5), pp. 77-86.

[8] BUENO DE MESQUITA, Bruce; MORROW, James; SIVERSON, Randolph; SMITH, Alastair. (2001), "Political Competition and Economic Growth." Journal of Democracy 12(1), pp. 58-72.

[9] BUENO DE MESQUITA, Bruce; SMITH, Alastair, SIVERSON, Randolph; MORROW, James. (2003), The Logic of Political Survival Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

[10] CAMP KEITH, Linda and POE, Steven C. (2000), "The United States, the IMF, and Human Rights". In David Forsythe, Ed. The United States and Human Rights Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press.

[11] CARNEIRO, C. Lucena and ELDEN, Dominique. (2009), "Economic Sanctions, Leadership Survival, and Human Rights." University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law 30(3).

[12] DAVENPORT, Christian. (2004), "The Promise of Democratic Pacification: An Empirical Assessment." International Studies Quarterly 48(3), pp. 539-560.

[13] DOLLAR, David and COLLIER, Paul. (2002), "Aid Allocation and Poverty Reduction." European Economic Review 46(8), pp. 1475-500.

[14] DOLLAR, David and LEVIN, Victoria. (2006), "The Increasing Selectivity of Foreign Aid, 1984-2003." World Development 34(12), pp. 2034-46.

[15] EASTERLY, William. (2002), The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists' Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

[16] EASTERLY, William. (2006), The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good London: Penguin Press.

[17] EASTERLY, William; LEVINE, Ross; ROODMAN, David. (2004), "Aid, Policies, and Growth: Comment." American Economic Review 94(3), pp. 774-80.

[18] ESCRIBA-FOLCH, Abel and WRIGHT, Joseph. (2010), "Dealing with Tyranny: International Sanctions and the Survival of Authoritarian Rulers." International Studies Quarterly Vol. 54, pp. 335-359.

[19] FRANKLIN, James. (1997), "IMF Conditionality, Threat Perception, and Political Repression: A Cross-National Analysis." Comparative Political Studies Vol. 30, pp. 576-606.

[20] HAFNER-BURTON, Emilie. (2005), "Trading Human Rights: How Preferential Trade Agreements Influence Government Repression." International Organization 59 (Summer), pp. 593-629.

[21] HAFNER-BURTON, Emilie. (2009), Forced to Be Good: Why Trade Agreements Boost Human Rights Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

[22] HAFNER-BURTON, Emilie. (2013), Making Human Rights a Reality. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

[23] HENDERSON, Conway. (1996), "Dependency and Political Repression: A Caveat on Research Expectations." D. L. Cingranelli, Ed. Human Rights and Developing Countries Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

[24] LANDMAN, Todd. (2005), Protecting Human Rights: A Comparative Study, Advancing Human Rights. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press.

[25] MILNER, Wesley; LEBLANG, David; POE, Steven. (2004), "Providing Subsistence Rights: Do States Make a Difference?" Sabine Carey and Steven Poe, Eds. The Systematic Study of Human Rights Burlington, NY: Ashgate.

[26] MEYER, William H. (1996), "Human Rights and MNCs: Theory versus Quantitative Analysis." Human Rights Quarterly Vol. 18, pp. 368-397.

[27] MEYER, William H. (1998), Human Rights and International Political Economy in Third World Nations Westport, CT: Praeger.

[28] MORAVCSIK, Andrew. (2000), "The Origins of Human Rights Regimes: Democratic Delegation in Postwar Europe." International Organization 54(2), pp. 217-252.

[29] PEKSEN, Dursun. (2009), "Better or Worse? The Effect of Economic Sanctions on Human Rights." Journal of Peace Research 46(1), pp. 59-77.

[30] PEKSEN, Dursun and DRURY A. C. (2009), "Economic Sanctions and Political Repression: Assessing the Impact of Coercive Diplomacy on Political Freedoms." Human Rights Review 10(3), pp. 393-411.

[31] PION-BERLIN, David. (1984), "The Political Economy of State Repression in Argentina." Michael Stohl and George Lopez, Eds. The State as a Terrorist: The Dynamics of Governmental Violence and Repression Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

[32] POE, Steven; TATE, Neal Tate; CAMP KEITH, Linda. (1999), "Repression of the Human Right to Physical Integrity Revisited: A Global Cross-National Study Covering the Years 1976-1993. International Studies Quarterly Vol. 43, pp. 291-313.

[33] RICHARDS, David; GELLENY, Ronald; SACKO, David. (2001), "Money with a Mean Streak? Foreign Economic Penetration and Government Respect for Human Rights in Developing Countries." International Studies Quarterly 45, pp. 219-239.

[34] SACHS, Jeffrey and WARNER, Andrew. (2001), "The Curse of Natural Resources." European Economic Review 45(4-6), pp. 827-38.

[35] SACHS, Jeffrey. (2005), The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time New York: Penguin Books.

[36] SIMMONS, Beth. (2009), Mobilizing for Human Rights: International Law in Domestic Politics Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

[37] WOOD, Reed M. (2008), "A Hand upon the Throat of the Nation: Economic Sanctions and State Repression." International Studies Quarterly 52, pp. 489-513.

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Human rights and development: an international political economy perspective

Abstract

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