What is it about?
This article examines how states respond when violations of their citizens’ rights abroad are publicly exposed. Focusing on countries that are parties to the UN Convention Against Torture, it shows that governments tend to retaliate by increasing violations of the rights of foreign nationals within their own territory. The analysis reveals a vicious cycle in which the publicization of abuses against a state’s citizens abroad triggers reciprocal rights violations, undermining the protection of foreign nationals and weakening international human rights accountability.
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Why is it important?
This study highlights a previously underexamined mechanism through which international human rights exposure can produce counterproductive effects. By showing that publicized violations of citizens’ rights abroad may trigger retaliatory abuses against foreign nationals at home, the article challenges assumptions about the uniformly positive impact of transparency and publicity in human rights governance. The findings have important implications for the design of monitoring, reporting, and advocacy strategies, suggesting that international efforts to protect rights can inadvertently exacerbate harm to vulnerable groups and may require greater attention to reciprocal dynamics among states.
Perspectives
I approach this question from a concern with how international human rights practices operate in real political contexts rather than in idealized settings. While publicity and monitoring are often assumed to promote better rights protection, this study reflects my interest in situations where such tools may have unintended and troubling effects. By focusing on retaliation and reciprocal dynamics, I aim to draw attention to the political calculations that shape states’ responses to human rights exposure and to encourage more careful thinking about how international advocacy can protect vulnerable groups without provoking additional harm.
Professor Sara Beth Kahn-Nisser
Open University of Israel
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Vicious Cycle: Violations of Foreign Nationals’ Rights among CAT Countries, International Studies Quarterly, August 2022, Oxford University Press (OUP),
DOI: 10.1093/isq/sqac046.
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