Information effects and human rights data: Is the good news about increased human rights information bad news for human rights measures?

Human Rights Quarterly

Volumn 35, Issue 3, 2013, Pages 539-568

  Clark, Ann Marie ^a   Sikkink, Kathryn ^b  

^a PURDUE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

DATA SET; HUMAN RIGHTS; VIOLENCE;

LATIN AMERICA;

EID: 84881540391     PISSN: 02750392     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1353/hrq.2013.0046     Document Type: Article

References (88)

1. Political Terror Scale, available at http://www.politicalterrorscale.org.
2. CIRI Human Rights Data Project, available at http://www.humanrightsdata.org.
3. From top thirty political science journals, as listed in Micheal W. Giles & James C. Garand, Ranking Political Science Journals: Reputational and Citational Approaches, 40 PS: Pol. Sci. & Pol. 741, 743-44 (2007) (research assistance provided by Brooke Coe).
4. Emilie M. Hafner-Burton & James Ron, Seeing Double: Human Rights Impact through Qualitative and Quantitative Eyes, 61 World Pol. 360, 363 (2009).
5. Carol DeSantis, Rebecca Siegel, Priti Bandi & Ahmedin Jemal, Breast Cancer Statistics, 2011, 61 Cal. Cancer J. Clinicians 409, 411 (2011).
6. G. Maskarinec, L. Wilkens & L. Meng, Mammography Screening and the Increase in Breast Cancer Incidence in Hawaii, 6 Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention 201, 201 (1997).
7. M. Kalager, et al., Overdiagnosis of Invasive Breast Cancer Due to Mammography Screening: Results From the Norwegian Screening Program, 156 Annals Internal Med. 491, 491 (2012).
8. M. Kalager, et al., Overdiagnosis of Invasive Breast Cancer Due to Mammography Screening: Results From the Norwegian Screening Program, 156 Annals Internal Med. 491, 491 (2012).
9. M. Kalager, et al., Overdiagnosis of Invasive Breast Cancer Due to Mammography Screening: Results From the Norwegian Screening Program, 156 Annals Internal Med. 491, 491 (2012).
10. Margaret Keck & Kathryn Sikkink, Activists Beyond Borders 194 (1998).
11. Amnesty Int'l, Annual Report (1975), available at http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/ webbin/serial?id=aireport.
12. U.S. Dep't of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (1979), available at http:// onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=crhrp (hereinafter Country Reports [year]).
13. CIRI Human Rights Data Project, available at http://www.humanrightsdata.org.
14. Steven C. Poe, C. Neal Tate & Linda Camp Keith, Repression of the Human Right to Personal Integrity Revisited: A Global Cross-National Study Covering the Years 1976-1993, 43 Int'l Stud. Q. 291, 299 (1999).
15. Political Terror Scale, FAQ available at http://www.politicalterrorscale.org/faq.php.
16. David L. Cingranelli & David L. Richards, The Cingranelli and Richards (CIRI) Human Rights Data Project, 32 Hum. Rts. Q. 401, 409 (2010).
17. Reed M. Wood & Mark Gibney, The Political Terror Scale (PTS): A Re-introduction and a Comparison to CIRI, 32 Hum. Rts. Q. 367, 373 (2010).
18. Political Terror Scale, FAQ available at http://www.politicalterrorscale.org/faq.php.
19. Political Terror Scale, FAQ available at http://www.politicalterrorscale.org/faq.php.
20. Political Terror Scale, FAQ available at http://www.politicalterrorscale.org/faq.php.
21. CIRI Human Rights Data Project, FAQ, available at http://humanrightsdata.org/faq.asp.
22. David L. Cingranelli & David L. Richards, The Cingranelli-Richards (CIRI) Human Rights Data Project Coding Manual at 8, 10, 13-14 (Version 7.30.08 2008), available at http://www. humanrightsdata.org/documentation/ciri_coding_guide.pdf.
23. David L. Cingranelli & David L. Richards, The Cingranelli-Richards (CIRI) Human Rights Data Project Coding Manual at 8, 10, 13-14 (Version 7.30.08 2008), available at http://www. humanrightsdata.org/documentation/ciri_coding_guide.pdf.
24. David L. Cingranelli & David L. Richards, Short Variable Descriptions for Indicators in the Cingranelli-Richards (CIRI) Human Rights Dataset, 3 (Version 11.22.2010 2010), available at http://www.humanrightsdata.org/documentation/ciri_variables_short_descriptions.pdf. In Figures 1-6, the CIRI values are reversed for ease of visual comparison, so that lower scores on the graphs represent less severe violation levels for both scales.
25. Amnesty Int'l, Frequently Asked Questions: How does Amnesty International get its information?, available at http://www.amnesty.org/en/who-we-are/faq#how-ai-getsinformation.
26. The State Department outlines how each annual report is prepared in the Overview and Acknowledgments section. See, e.g., U.S. Dep't of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012: Overview and Acknowledgments (2012), available at http://www. state.gov/documents/organization/204296.pdf.
27. Amnesty Int'l, Annual Report (1975), available at http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/ webbin/serial?id=aireport.
28. Steven C. Poe, C. Neal Tate & Linda Camp Keith, Repression of the Human Right to Personal Integrity Revisited: A Global Cross-National Study Covering the Years 1976-1993, 43 Int'l Stud. Q. 291, 299 (1999).
29. Steven C. Poe, C. Neal Tate & Linda Camp Keith, Repression of the Human Right to Personal Integrity Revisited: A Global Cross-National Study Covering the Years 1976-1993, 43 Int'l Stud. Q. 291, 299 (1999).
30. Peter R. Baehr, Amnesty International and Its Self-Imposed Limited Mandate, 12 Neth. Q. Hum. Rts 5 (1994).
31. Ann Marie Clark, Diplomacy of Conscience: Amnesty International and Changing Human Rights Norms (2001).
32. Stephen Hopgood, Keepers of the Flame: Understanding Amnesty International (2006).
33. Interview with State Dep't official (anonymous at interviewee's request), in Wash., DC (11 May 2011).
34. Ann Marie Clark, Diplomacy of Conscience: Amnesty International and Changing Human Rights Norms (2001).
35. Ann Marie Clark, Diplomacy of Conscience: Amnesty International and Changing Human Rights Norms (2001).
36. Interview with State Dep't official (anonymous at interviewee's request), in Wash., DC (11 May 2011).
37. Jo Marie Griesgraber, Implementation by the Carter Administration of Human Rights Legislation Affecting Latin America 103, 106 (Ph.D. dissertation, Georgetown University. 1983).
38. Kathryn Sikkink, Mixed Signals: U.S. Human Rights Policy and Latin America 206 (2004).
39. Stephen Hopgood, Amnesty International's Growth and Development since 1961, in Amnesty International 50 years: Reflections and Perspectives 75, 90 (Wilco de Jonge, Brianne McGonigle Leyh, Anja Mihr & Lars van Troost eds., 2011).
40. Interview with State Dep't official (anonymous at interviewee's request), in Wash., DC (11 May 2011).
41. U.S. Dep't of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (1979), available at http:// onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=crhrp (hereinafter Country Reports [year]).
42. Steven C. Poe, C. Neal Tate & Linda Camp Keith, Repression of the Human Right to Personal Integrity Revisited: A Global Cross-National Study Covering the Years 1976-1993, 43 Int'l Stud. Q. 291, 299 (1999).
43. See Michael D. Cobb & James H. Kuklinski, Changing Minds: Political Arguments and Political Persuasion, 41 Am. J. Pol. Sci. 88 (1997).
44. Daniel N. Osherson, et al., Category-Based Induction, 97 Psychol. Rev. 185 (1990)
45. Caren M. Rotello & Evan Heit, Modeling the Effects of Argument Length and Validity on Inductive and Deductive Reasoning, 35 J. Experimental Psychol.: Learning, Memory, & Cognition 1317 (2009).
46. On Argentina, see National Commission on Disappeared Persons (CONADE P), Nunca Más (1984), available at http://www.desaparecidos.org/nuncamas/web/english/library/nevagain/ nevagain_001.htm.
47. On Chile, see Truth and National Reconciliation Commission, Informe Rettig: Informe de la Comisión de Verdad y Reconciliación (1991).
48. On El Salvador, see From Madness to Hope: The 12-Year War in El Salvador: Report of the Commission on the Truth for El Salvador, U.N. SCOR, The Commission on the Truth for El Salvador, U.N. Doc. S/25500 (1993), available at www.usip.org/files/file/ ElSalvador-Report.pdf.
49. On El Salvador, see From Madness to Hope: The 12-Year War in El Salvador: Report of the Commission on the Truth for El Salvador, U.N. SCOR, The Commission on the Truth for El Salvador, U.N. Doc. S/25500 (1993), available at www.usip.org/files/file/ ElSalvador-Report.pdf.
50. Kathryn Sikkink, Mixed Signals: U.S. Human Rights Policy and Latin America 206 (2004).
51. Stephen C. Ropp and Kathryn Sikkink, International Norms and Domestic Politics in Guatemala, in The Power of Human Rights: International Norms and Domestic Change, 188-9 (Thomas Risse, Stephen C. Ropp, and Kathryn Sikkink eds., 1999).
52. U.S. Dep't of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (1979), available at http:// onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=crhrp (hereinafter Country Reports [year]).
53. U.S. Dep't of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (1979), available at http:// onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=crhrp (hereinafter Country Reports [year]).
54. Amnesty Int'l, Annual Report (1975), available at http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/ webbin/serial?id=aireport.
55. Amnesty Int'l, Annual Report (1975), available at http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/ webbin/serial?id=aireport.
56. Ann Marie Clark, Diplomacy of Conscience: Amnesty International and Changing Human Rights Norms (2001).
57. Ann Marie Clark, Diplomacy of Conscience: Amnesty International and Changing Human Rights Norms (2001).
58. Ann Marie Clark, Diplomacy of Conscience: Amnesty International and Changing Human Rights Norms (2001).
59. Interview with F. Allen Harris, Diplomat, U.S. Dep't of State (by Kathryn Sikkink), in Washington, D.C. (5 Mar. 2003).
60. U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, Secret Cable: Counterinsurgency Operations in El Quiché (1982) available at http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB11/docs/doc11.pdf.
61. U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), GAO/NSIAD-90-224, Human Rights: State Department's Commitment to Accurate Reporting Has Increased 2 (1990), available at http://www. gao.gov/assets/150/149785.pdf.
62. U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), GAO/NSIAD-90-224, Human Rights: State Department's Commitment to Accurate Reporting Has Increased 2 (1990), available at http://www. gao.gov/assets/150/149785.pdf.
63. U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), GAO/NSIAD-90-224, Human Rights: State Department's Commitment to Accurate Reporting Has Increased 2 (1990), available at http://www. gao.gov/assets/150/149785.pdf.
64. Steven C. Poe, C. Neal Tate & Linda Camp Keith, Repression of the Human Right to Personal Integrity Revisited: A Global Cross-National Study Covering the Years 1976-1993, 43 Int'l Stud. Q. 291, 299 (1999).
65. U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), GAO/NSIAD-90-224, Human Rights: State Department's Commitment to Accurate Reporting Has Increased 2 (1990), available at http://www. gao.gov/assets/150/149785.pdf.
66. The assumption in this design is that factors that would make a State Department report entry longer or shorter due to a measurement artifact are unrelated to those factors that would affect the length of the same year's AI report, and vice versa.
67. David L. Cingranelli & David L. Richards, Short Variable Descriptions for Indicators in the Cingranelli-Richards (CIRI) Human Rights Dataset, 3 (Version 11.22.2010 2010), available at http://www.humanrightsdata.org/documentation/ciri_variables_short_descriptions.pdf. In Figures 1-6, the CIRI values are reversed for ease of visual comparison, so that lower scores on the graphs represent less severe violation levels for both scales.
68. Due to varying Congressional mandates, more thematic sections have been added to the reports over time, but recent SD country entries have shortened on average since 2000, as Figure 1 reveals.
69. Stephen C. Ropp and Kathryn Sikkink, International Norms and Domestic Politics in Guatemala, in The Power of Human Rights: International Norms and Domestic Change, 188-9 (Thomas Risse, Stephen C. Ropp, and Kathryn Sikkink eds., 1999).
70. Stephen C. Ropp and Kathryn Sikkink, International Norms and Domestic Politics in Guatemala, in The Power of Human Rights: International Norms and Domestic Change, 188-9 (Thomas Risse, Stephen C. Ropp, and Kathryn Sikkink eds., 1999).
71. Stephen C. Ropp and Kathryn Sikkink, International Norms and Domestic Politics in Guatemala, in The Power of Human Rights: International Norms and Domestic Change, 188-9 (Thomas Risse, Stephen C. Ropp, and Kathryn Sikkink eds., 1999).
72. Carlos Santiago Nino, Radical Evil on Trial 33 (1996).
73. Joan R. Dassin, The Brazilian Press and the Politics of Abertura, 26 J. Interamerican Stud. & World Aff. 385, 385-88 (1984).
74. For example, the 2013 annual report by Human Rights Watch notes that Brazil is now "among the most influential democracies in regional and world affairs" but still faces "chronic" problems related to police treatment of criminal detainees. See Human Rights Watch, World Report 2013, Brazil, available at http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2013/ country-chapters/brazil.
75. Secretaria Especial dos Direitos Humanos da Presidência da República, Direto à Memoria e à Verdade: Comissão Especial sobre Mortos e Desaparecidos Políticos (2007).
76. Amnesty Int'l, Annual Report (1975), available at http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/ webbin/serial?id=aireport.
77. Amnesty Int'l, Annual Report (1975), available at http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/ webbin/serial?id=aireport.
78. Amnesty Int'l, Annual Report (1975), available at http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/ webbin/serial?id=aireport.
79. Amnesty Int'l, Annual Report (1975), available at http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/ webbin/serial?id=aireport.
80. U.S. Dep't of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (1979), available at http:// onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=crhrp (hereinafter Country Reports [year]).
81. Observatório das Violências Policiais-SP, available at http://www.ovp-sp.org.
82. Police Brutality in Urban Brazil, Human Rights Watch (1 April 1997), available at http:// www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=printdoc&docid=3ae6a 7e74.
83. Stephen C. Ropp and Kathryn Sikkink, International Norms and Domestic Politics in Guatemala, in The Power of Human Rights: International Norms and Domestic Change, 188-9 (Thomas Risse, Stephen C. Ropp, and Kathryn Sikkink eds., 1999).
84. Emilie M. Hafner-Burton & James Ron, Seeing Double: Human Rights Impact through Qualitative and Quantitative Eyes, 61 World Pol. 360, 363 (2009).
85. Emilie M. Hafner-Burton & James Ron, Seeing Double: Human Rights Impact through Qualitative and Quantitative Eyes, 61 World Pol. 360, 363 (2009).
86. Steven B. Rothman, Understanding Data Quality through Reliability: A Comparison of Data Reliability Assessment in Three International Relations Datasets, 9 Int'l Stud. Rev. 437, 443 (2007).
87. Gary King, Robert O. Keohane & Sidney Verba, Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research 188 (1994).
88. Making the Case: Investigating Large Scale Human Rights Violations Using Information Management Systems and Data Analysis (Patrick Ball, Herbert F. Spirer & Louise Spirer eds., 2000).