Making Sense of Human Rights Commitments: A Study of Two Emerging European Democracies
Making Sense of Human Rights Commitments: A Study of Two Emerging European Democracies

Author(s): Hubert Smekal, Katarína Šipulová, Ivo Pospíšil, Jozef Janovský, Petr Kilian
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, History, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law, International Law, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Political Theory, Political Sciences, Diplomatic history, Political history, Recent History (1900 till today), Government/Political systems, International relations/trade, Politics and law, Comparative politics, Post-War period (1950 - 1989), Transformation Period (1990 - 2010)
Published by: Masarykova univerzita nakladatelství
Keywords: Human Rights Commitments; Human Rights Treaties; Political regimes; Czech Republic; Slovakia; Political History; Socialism; 1990s; Leftists and Rightist Government;
Summary/Abstract: What motivates states to commit to international human rights treaties remains a much-debated question in political and legal science. Many tentative explanations for the observed variation in signature and ratification patterns have been proposed. Some are based on the content of the treaties (the substance of the protected rights and the control mechanism), some focus on the characteristics of the states making a commitment, while others are tied to external factors (having originated either from pressure from the international community or within the domestic political system). Empirical evidence supporting the proposed hypotheses remains nevertheless rather scarce, and overall knowledge about the reasons for signing and ratifying treaties is inconclusive. We aim to contribute to this scholarly discussion by providing a new and thorough examination of the commitment practice in two post-communist countries – the Czech Republic and Slovakia – and in their non-democratic and transitioning predecessors. While both countries have experienced very similar international development propelled by the same international incentives and constraints, their internal political experiences differ significantly.

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