International Criticism, Public Opinion, and Human Rights

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

One of the primary tools of the international society to enforce compliance with human rights norms is “naming and shaming” (Hafner-Burton 2008; Terman and Byun 2021). By publicly pointing and condemning governments’ wrongdoings, different actors try to change governments’ behavior by moving public opinion and mobilizing. This panel brings together four papers that study the links between international criticism and public opinion, highlighting multiple actors involved in this process along multiple stages.

Greenhill begins our discussion by focusing on the decision of international organizations to voice criticism. Examining why do (some) international organizations express their concerns regarding (some) human rights issues, the paper considers the interests of the member states steering the organization as well as the beliefs of the organization’s leadership and staff.

The next two papers study the impact of international criticism on public opinion in the target country. Chong et al. study the impact on international pressure in the context of anti-discrimination laws in Japan. In contrast to many accounts that suggest that international criticism increases public support for human rights, the paper finds no support for change in public opinion. Abramson, Menon, and Gitlin use an experimental design to examine Israeli public response to criticism voiced by different actors: a domestic one, a diasporic one, or a foreign one. Both papers suggest that the impact of international criticism on public opinion is dependent on certain cultural, social, and political predispositions that are important to account for.

Finally, Búzás and Bassan-Nygate study the impact of “counter-shaming” – one of the strategies used by targeted governments to deflect international criticism. Their paper shows that counter-shaming, which uses alternative normative frames, can influence public opinion abroad, thus mitigating the effects of international criticism.

Overall, the four papers join the burgeoning research studying the conditions under which “naming and shaming” influence public opinion (Gruffydd-Jones 2019; Marinov 2021; Tingley and Tomz 2021). The different papers examine states, non-state actors, and international organizations along multiple stages of the process – the decision to criticize, the influence of the criticism, and the impact of counter-criticism.

Sub Unit

• Division 45: Human Rights

Individual Presentations

• Intergovernmental Organizations and Public Perceptions of Human Rights - Brian D. Greenhill, SUNY, University at Albany

• Whose Critique Matters?: Israeli Public Opinion toward International Criticism - Yehonatan Abramson, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Anil Menon, University of Michigan; Abir Gitlin, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

• Counter-Shaming and the Norm of Racial Equality - Zoltan I. Buzas, University of Notre Dame; Lotem Bassan-Nygate, UW - Madison/Harvard Kennedy School

Chair

• Alexandra Arons Siegel University of Coloardo Boulder

Discussant

• Rochelle Layla Terman University of Chicago