Abstract
When divergent human rights policies are observed in different countries, analysts usually turn to ideological commitment or forms of government for explanations, contrasting democratic support for human rights with violations by authoritarian regimes of the left and right. There is validity to this analysis up to a point. But divergent human rights policies may be observed even when these variables are held relatively constant. The argument of this paper is that human rights policies can be understood most fully by incorporating cultural and philosophical variables into the analysis. The argument has broad applicability but the Indian and American cases are used illustratively in order to hold forms of government and ideological commitments relatively constant.
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Johnson, M.G. (1988). Human Rights in Divergent Conceptual Settings: How Do Ideas Influence Policy Choices?. In: Cingranelli, D.L. (eds) Human Rights. Policy Studies Organization Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-10122-1_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-10122-1_3
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