When the State No Longer Kills

Sangmin Bae is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Northeastern Illinois University.

• List of Figures and TablesForeword Preface1. INTRODUCTION: PROHIBITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY AS A HUMAN RIGHTS NORMInternational Standards Prohibiting Capital PunishmentInternational Norms in International Relations ResearchMethodological and Analytical Issues2. UKRAINEThe Council of Europe and the Death-Penalty-Free ZonePolitical Turbulence and Rising Crime RatesUkraine’s Resistance to the Council of EuropePublic Opinion on the Death Penalty ControversyThe Process of Enforcing the Council of Europe NormConditions for Death Penalty ReformConcluding Remarks3. SOUTH AFRICACapital Punishment under ApartheidThe Abolitionist Movement and the Role of External DonorsThe Moratorium on ExecutionsPolitical Transformation and Criminal Society: "Crime is Out of Control!"The Constitutional Court’s Ruling on the Death PenaltyPost–Death Penalty Abolition Years: The Debate ContinuesWho and What Played the Major Roles?Conclusion: The Politics of Principle4. SOUTH KOREADictatorship, Economic Miracle, and Human Security (1948–1987)Democratic Transition and the Continuing Use of the Death Penalty (1987–1997)The Emergence of the Abolitionist MovementChanging Political Conditions for Death Penalty Abolitionism (1998–Present)The Abolitionist Camp: Catholic Church, Amnesty International, and LegislatorsWhy Not Abolition Right Now?Concluding Remarks5. UNITED STATES"American Exceptionalism" and International PressureDo Crime Rates Matter?The Vigilante TraditionRacial Prejudice and InjusticeWhy More after the 1980s?: The Era of Heightened Inequality and PunitivenessAnti–Death Penalty ActivismPublic Support for the Death Penalty: A Constant VariableThe Peculiarity of the U.S. Political InstitutionsIs Political Leadership a Remaining Virtue?Concluding Remarks6. CONCLUSIONWays of Norm Compliance: Ukraine, South Africa, South Korea, and the United StatesConditions for Norm ComplianceCausal Mechanisms of Norm ComplianceConclusion: Extending the ArgumentNotesBibliographyIndex

"Overall Bae's work is highly instructive. Its comprehensive, multidimensional approach presents detailed accounts of the individual case studies, their political background, history of international norm compliance, and human rights record. The chapters are highly readable, making this book appropriate for an undergraduate audience … This volume is also highly recommended to scholars of human rights, comparative politics, and political scientists in general, given the combination of methodologies and Bae's presentation of the abolition of the death penalty as a truly multifaceted issue." — H-Net Reviews"The author has an excellent grasp of the work done on the death penalty and has applied the main arguments to regions outside Europe that deserve more attention and exploration. Her interesting conclusions provide an important basis for further research." — Agata Fijalkowski, Lancaster University Law School