Science and the Study of Human Rights

Skip Mark is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island and Director of the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies. Ashlea Rundlett is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Master's in International Relations program at the University of Rhode Island. Mikhail Filippov is a Professor of Political Science at Binghamton University. David L. Cingranelli is a SUNY Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Binghamton University and Codirector of the Human Rights Institute.

• List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction Part One: Background and Theory 1. The International Human Rights Implementation Gap 2. Toward a Theory of Why Governments Protect Human Rights Part Two: Measuring National Performance 3. Choosing the Right Measure for the Rights Audience 4. The Big Six Human Rights Scoring Projects 5. Who Has the Best Human Rights in the World? 6. Which Human Rights Are Most and Least Protected? 7. Overperformers and Underperformers in the Human Rights Model Part Three: Case Studies and Special Topics 8. Human Rights in the United States 9. Human Rights in Mexico 10. The Repression Information Paradox11. Final Thoughts Notes Bibliography Name Index Subject Index

"The greatest strength of Science and the Study of Human Rights lies in its unique principal agent theoretical approach, which explains the differences in states' human rights practices and variations across different rights. This theoretical contribution to the literature on human rights makes the book stand out by pioneering future theoretical and empirical work in human rights research. I am particularly pleased with how the authors have avoided disciplinary jargon, making their arguments accessible to readers who are not trained in quantitative statistical analysis"—Horace Bartilow, American University School of International Service