Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
submittedVersion
Publication Date
3-2019
Abstract
Scholarly research generally finds that democratic governments are more likely to respect human rights than other types of regimes. Different human rights practices among long-standing and affluent democracies therefore present a puzzle. Drawing from democratic theory and comparative institutional studies, we argue more inclusive or "popular" democracies should enforce human rights better than more exclusive or "elite" democracies, even in the face of security threats from armed conflict. Instead of relying on the Freedom House or Polity indexes to distinguish levels of democracy, we adopt a more focused approach to measuring structures of inclusion, the Institutional Democracy Index (IDI), which captures meaningful differences in how electoral and other institutions channel popular influence over policy-making. Analyzing levels of physical integrity rights through a time-series cross-sectional research design of forty-nine established democracies, supplemented by structured case comparisons, reveals a significant and robust relationship between more inclusive democratic institutions and better respect for human rights.
Keywords
democracy, electoral system, elite politics, human rights, political conflict
Discipline
Human Rights Law | Political Science
Research Areas
Political Science
Publication
International Studies Quarterly
Volume
63
Issue
1
First Page
111
Last Page
126
ISSN
0020-8833
Identifier
10.1093/isq/sqy057
Publisher
Wiley: 24 months / Oxford University Press (OUP): Policy F - Oxford Open Option D
Citation
JOSHI, Devin K., MALOY, J. S., & PETERSON, Timothy M..(2019). Popular versus elite democracies and human rights: Inclusion makes a difference. International Studies Quarterly, 63(1), 111-126.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2849
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqy057