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Questions of life and death: (De)constructing human rights norms through US public opinion surveys

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2019

Alexandria Nylen  and
Charli Carpenter
Alexandria Nylen
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Charli Carpenter*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
*
*Corresponding author. Email: charli.carpenter@gmail.com
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Abstract

Public opinion polls on national security issues are often seen as indicators of the strength of international human rights norms. By contrast, we hypothesise that the very act of answering poll questions can weaken citizens’ understandings of important international human rights laws and norms in the very moment they are being measured. We ground this discussion empirically by analysing a new dataset of post-9/11 survey questions on two US national security policies at odds with international human rights norms: ‘enhanced interrogations’ and ‘targeted killing’. In so doing, we encourage a widened research agenda on how international legal and normative understandings are transmitted to the public through surveys. We conclude by highlighting substantive implications for norm scholars and policy implications for norm advocates.

Keywords

SecurityHuman RightsInternational LawInternational Norms
Type
Research Article
Information
European Journal of International Security , Volume 4 , Issue 2 , June 2019 , pp. 142 - 162
Copyright
Copyright © British International Studies Association 2019 

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