PUBPOL 5200

International Human Rights Policy

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2026-2027 Catalog.

This course examines the politics of human rights violations and the policy interventions designed to address them. The first part asks what we know about the causes and consequences of human rights abuse: Why do violations occur? How are they measured and documented? How have human rights practices changed over time? What are the effects of violations on victims and society? The second part examines policy interventions used to address human rights violations, including efforts by international treaty bodies and transitional justice mechanisms. The course considers cases drawn from a diversity of rights--including civil and political rights, social rights, and the rights of migrants and refugees--as well as actors ranging from governments and international organizations to businesses and civil society organizations. The course aims to prepare students to develop evidence-based, theoretically sound policy interventions aimed at addressing the persistent abuse of human rights in the world today. (MPA-INTPMN, MPA-PUBNON, MPA-SOCPOL)

Program Requirements (MPA-INTPMN, MPA-PUBNON, MPA-SOCPOL)

Last 4 Terms Offered 2024FA

Learning Outcomes

• Develop a strong understanding of the legal framework and sources of law (treaties, customary international law, UN institutions and machinery) governing international human rights law and policy, as well as a strong introduction to the substance of many internationally recognized human rights.
• Build a strong foundation regarding the leading human rights challenges facing people around the world; explore how comparative policy analysis can be helpful in designing effective responses.
• Develop a keen understanding of how international human rights principles and mechanisms are created and how they work in practice, with an emphasis on political factors and empirical evaluation of the efficacy of various mechanisms.
• Develop the legal reasoning tools necessary to analyze U.S. legal sources (statutes, regulations, judicial and administrative opinions and guidance) as they relate to international human rights obligations of the U.S.
• Design a creative, compelling, and politically viable constitutional, legislative, or administrative solution to a pressing human rights challenge in a jurisdiction of your choosing, based on in-depth research and analysis of a particular human rights issue in a particular location.

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