A Comparative Analysis of Human Rights Protection in European Union and African Union Countries: An fsQCA Approach

A Comparative Analysis of Human Rights Protection in European Union and African Union Countries: An fsQCA Approach

This study contributes to the human rights protection literature by using Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) in the analysis of 76 cases composed of European Union and African Union countries. Results indicate that the ratification of treaties, establishment of human rights institutions, and high GDP per capita in the absence of rule of law, play crucial roles in the high rate of protection of human rights in Europe. In Africa, however, the low GDP per capita and absence of rule of law significantly weaken human rights protection. The analysis reveals that the establishment of human rights institutions is essential to protect human rights in Europe, while high GDP per capita and rule of law are paramount to improving human rights protection in Africa in relation to any institutional configuration, approach, or policy.

___

  • Aksoy, Sevilay Z. (2005). “The Regime Theories: Useful Frameworks for Analysing Human Rights Issues?.” Uluslararası İlişkiler, Vol 2, No 5, p.1-23.
  • Berg-Schlosser, Dirk et al. (2009). “Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) as an Approach”, Benoît Rihoux and Charles C. Ragin (eds.), Configurational Comparative Methods: Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Related Techniques, Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage, p.1-18.
  • Berg-Schlosser, D., & De Meur, G. (1994). “Conditions of Democracy in Interwar Europe: A Boolean Test of Major Hypotheses”, Comparative Politics, Vol. 26, No 3, p. 253-279.
  • Cronqvist, Lasse, and Dirk Berg-Schlosser (2009). “Multi-value QCA (mvQCA)”, Benoît Rihoux and Charles C. Ragin (eds.), Configurational Comparative Methods: Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Related Techniques, Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage, p. 69-86.
  • Cross, Frank B. (1999). “The Relevance of Law in Human Rights Protection”, International Review of Law and Economics, Vol. 19, No 1, p. 87-98.
  • Crush, Jonathan, and Sujata Ramachandran (2014). “Xenophobic Violence in South Africa: Denialism, Minimalism, Realism”, Africa Portal, No 66, p. 1-44.
  • Dahl, Robert A. (2005). “What Political Institutions Does Large-Scale Democracy Require?”, Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 120, No 2, p. 187-197.
  • Davenport, Christian A. (1996). “‘Constitutional Promises’ and Repressive Reality: A Cross-national Time-series Investigation of Why Political and Civil Liberties are Suppressed”, The Journal of Politics, Vol. 58, No 3, p. 627-654.
  • Donnelly, Jack (1986). “International Human Rights: a Regime Analysis”, International Organization, Vol. 40, No 3, p. 599-642.
  • Fitzgerald, Jared B. (2019). “Equifinality and Pathways to Environmental Concern: A Fuzzy- Set Analysis”, Socius, Vol. 5, p 1-14.
  • Galbreath, David J., and Joanne McEvoy (2012). “The European Minority Rights Regime”, David J. Galbreath and Joanne McEvoy (eds.), The European Minority Rights Regime, London, Palgrave Macmillan, p. 54-80.
  • Grewal, Sharanbir, and Erik Voeten (2015). “Are New Democracies Better Human Rights Compliers?”, International Organization, Vol. 69, No 2, p. 497-518.
  • Guzman, Andrew T. and Katerina Linos (2014). “Human Rights Backsliding”, California Law Review, Vol. 102, No 3, p. 603-654.
  • Hafner-Burton, Emilie M. (2005). “Trading Human Rights: How Preferential Trade Agreements Influence Government Repression”, International Organization, Vol. 59, No 3, p. 593-629.
  • Hathaway, Oona A. (2002). “Do Human Rights Treaties Make a Difference?”, The Yale Law Journal, Vol. 111, No 8, p. 1935-2042.
  • Katz, Hagai et al. (2006). “Fuzzy Set Approaches to the Study of Global Civil Society”, Marlies Glasius, Mary Kaldor and Helmut Anheier (eds.) , Global Civil Society, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, p. 186-196.
  • Keith, Linda C. (1999). “The United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: Does it Make a Difference in Human Rights Behavior?”, Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 36, No 1, p. 95-118.
  • Kim, Hun Joon, and Kathryn Sikkink (2012). “How do Human Rights Prosecutions Improve Human Rights after Transition?”, Interdisciplinary Journal of Human Rights Law, Vol. 7, p. 69-90.
  • King, Gary et al. (1994). Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research. Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press.
  • Krasner, Stephen D. (ed.) (1983). International Regimes. Ithaca, NY, Cornell University Press.
  • Landman, Todd (2012). “Projecting Liberalism into a Realist World: David P. Forsythe and the Political Science of Human Rights”, Journal of Human Rights, Vol. 11, No 3, p. 332-336.
  • Landman, Todd et al. (2012). “Relativizing Human Rights”, Journal of Human Rights, Vol. 11, No 4, p. 460-485.
  • Landman, Todd (2018). “Democracy and Human Rights: Concepts, Measures, and Relationships”, Politics and Governance, Vol. 6, No 1, p. 48-59.
  • Marx, Axel, and Jadir Soares (2016). “Applying New Methodological Tools in Human Rights Research. The case of Qualitative Comparative Analysis”, The International Journal of Human Rights, Vol. 20, No 3, p. 365-385.
  • Neumayer, Eric (2005). “Do International Human Rights Treaties Improve Respect for Human Rights?”, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 49, No 6, p. 925-953.
  • Pegram, Tom (2015). “Global Human Rights Governance and Orchestration: National Human Rights Institutions as Intermediaries”, European Journal of International Relations, Vol. 21, No 3, p. 595-620.
  • Pritchard, Kathleen (1986). “Comparative Human Rights: An Integrative Explanation”, Politikon: South African Journal of Political Studies, Vol. 13, No 2, p. 24-37.
  • Ragin, Charles C. (2009). “Qualitative Comparative Analysis Using Fuzzy Sets (fsQCA)”, Benoît Rihoux and Charles C. Ragin (eds.), Configurational Comparative Methods: Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Related Techniques, Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage, p. 87-121.
  • Regan, Tom (1995). “Obligations to Animals are Based on Rights”, Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, Vol. 8, No 2, p. 171-180.
  • Risse, Thomas et al. (eds.) (1999). The Power of Human Rights: International Norms and Domestic Change. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
  • Schneider, Carsten Q. and Claudius Wagemann (2010). “Standards of Good Practice in Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Fuzzy Sets”, Comparative Sociology, Vol. 9, No 3, p. 397-418.
  • Schneider, Carsten Q. and Claudius Wagemann (2012). Set-theoretic Methods for the Social Sciences: A Guide to Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
  • Simmons, Beth A. (2009). Mobilizing for Human Rights: International Law in Domestic Politics. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.