Why No Justice for Past Repression? Militaries and Human Rights Organizations in Post-Authoritarian States

Bibliographic Data

ID10071478
AuthorsPearce Edwards (0000-0002-7990-2247, Emory University, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume65
Issue4
Pages759-787
Publication date2020-09-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Conflict Resolution (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0027 • E-ISSN: 1552-8766
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0022002720957068
OpenAlexW3087702500
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited54

Do human rights organizations (HROs) aid the consolidation of democracy in post-authoritarian states? It is often argued that these groups contribute to accountability for past repression. Yet HROs can have unintended consequences if they threaten the interests of powerful domestic institutions. This paper develops a simple model of human rights activism in post-authoritarian states. Civilian governments in these states trade off support from the military and human rights activists which seek to punish the military. Counterintuitively, the model predicts human rights activists make amnesty for the military more likely, as activists tempt the government to punish the military and the military becomes more likely to intervene in politics. The model’s implications are tested using a sample of post-authoritarian states from 1970-2010. Results show that more HRO influence increases the likelihood of amnesty laws and military involvement in government, though HROs may achieve justice through pathways such as truth commissions

Accountability · Amnesty · Authoritarianism · Democracy · Government (linguistics · Human rights · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · Law · Political Conflict and Governance

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