Speaker: Stephanie Char, Postdoctoral fellow, Columbia-Harvard China and the World Program
Why do states decide to criticize come countries, but not others, over domestic human rights abuses? States often criticize rights violations abroad to improve human rights or bolster their own legitimacy, while refraining from criticizing allies. States can also be deterred from criticism by countercriticism coercion, or economic sanctions in response to criticism. I theorize that states are more likely to be deterred from criticizing countries with a reputation for countercriticism coercion, notably China. States learn from other countries’ past responses to criticism, rather than their economic power, stated positions on human rights, or domestic policies. UN member states are less likely to criticize rights violations in countries with reputations for countercriticism coercion. Elite interviews demonstrate how China’s reputation for countercriticism coercion deterred Indonesia and Malaysia from criticizing China over human rights in Xinjiang. This study has implications for the effectiveness of sanctions and resilience of international human rights norms.
Speaker's Bio: Stephanie Char is a postdoctoral fellow at the Columbia-Harvard China and the World Program and affiliate with the Weatherhead East Asian Institute. Her research interests span economic and military coercion, international institutions, and human rights. Her research has been funded by Columbia University’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy, and Columbia Experimental Laboratory in the Social Sciences, and she was previously a Hans J. Morgenthau Fellow at the Notre Dame International Security Center. Stephanie received her Ph.D. in Political Science at Columbia University and B.A. from the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.
This event is hosted by the China and the World Program and co-sponsored by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute.
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