Module Directory

Drawn from the Human Rights Centre’s internationally recognised and proven expertise on integrating theory and practice of human rights, the module will introduce students to the influence of the international system and its processes on the promotion of human rights.

As a practice-oriented module, it will examine the role of foreign policy instruments in advancing human rights as well as the use of human rights to pursue foreign policy goals of states in bilateral, multilateral and multi-stakeholder contexts. It will discuss different strategies employed in developing, negotiating, and setting international human right standards and in promoting the application of these standards in practice, highlighting the role of various actors, including civil society, in using 'human rights diplomacy' in transnational advocacy of human rights.

The aims of this module are:

• To provide students with a global perspective on the practice of human rights, especially in the negotiation and implementation of human rights norms.


• To enable an in-depth study of human rights advocacy by multilateral institutions and international civil society organisations, comparative study of foreign policy, and greater understanding of the international political context in which human rights are promoted and defended.

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

1. Understand different conceptions of the international system and how they each enhance or constrain the advancement of human rights as well as the relationship between competing national interests pursued by states.


2. Analyse the processes by which human rights norms are set and promoted, and to examine them in comparative perspective.


3. Recognise the relevance of multi-disciplinary approaches to the understanding of human rights in a global context.


4. Develop greater awareness of the tools and means of success in the advocacy of human rights.


5. Develop the critical reasoning, analytical writing and oral argumentation skills.

The content of the module is designed to enable students to develop key skillsets to apply their human rights expertise in operational settings, especially in some of the most challenging contexts. It includes assessing the potential and the efficacy of various instruments of foreign policy and statecraft available to government actors as well as tools of diplomacy that may be used by a wide community of stakeholders especially civil society actors and human rights defenders to advance respect for human rights on the ground. These practitioner skillsets are supported by engagement with relevant analytical and theoretical frameworks drawn from law and social sciences, and the evidence-base and case studies that have validated the use of these strategies to promote human rights.

This module will be delivered via:

• Weekly 2-hour seminars.

The module teaching team will upload all relevant teaching materials on Moodle. You will find reading lists, the textbook, weekly handouts or PPS notes on Moodle. The materials in question are designed both to help you navigate the material to be covered in the seminars and to equip you to analyse the required readings. You will be expected to have completed the required readings in advance of your seminars.

• Donnelly, Jack. (c2013) International human rights, Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
• Hicks, Peggy. (2011) 'Human Rights Diplomacy: the NGO Role', in Human rights diplomacy: contemporary perspectives, Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. vol. v. 1, pp.217-222
• Posner, Eric A. (2014) The twilight of human rights law, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Cardenas, Sonia. (2004) 'Norm Collision: Explaining the Effects of International Human Rights Pressure on State Behavior', in International Studies Review. vol. 6 (2) , pp.213-232
• Risse-Kappen, Thomas; Ropp, Steve C.; Sikkink, Kathryn. (2013) The persistent power of human rights: from commitment to compliance, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. vol. 126
• Jetschke, Anja; Liese, Andrea. (2013) 'The Power of Human Rights a decade after: from euphoria to contestation?', in The persistent power of human rights: from commitment to compliance, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. vol. 126, pp.26-42
• (2016) Human rights: politics and practice, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Alison Brysk. (2009) Global good Samaritans: human rights as foreign policy, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Ann Marie Clark. (2001) Diplomacy of conscience: Amnesty International and changing human rights norms, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Dunne, Tim; Hanson, Marianne. (2016) 'Human Rights in International Relations', in Human rights: politics and practice, Oxford: Oxford University Press., pp.44-57
• Thomas Risse-Kappen; Steve C. Ropp; Kathryn Sikkink. (2013) The persistent power of human rights: from commitment to compliance, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. vol. 126
• Hunt, Paul; et al. (2013) 'Implementation of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights', in Routledge handbook of international human rights law, Abingdon: Routledge., pp.545-564
• Alston, Philip. (2017-02) 'The Populist Challenge to Human Rights', in Journal of Human Rights Practice. vol. 9 (1) , pp.1-15
• Cohen, Stanley. (1996) 'Government Responses to Human Rights Reports: Claims, Denials and Counter-Claims', in Human Rights Quarterly. vol. 18 (3) , pp.517-543
• Alston, Philip; Goodman, Ryan; Steiner, Henry J. (2013) International human rights: the successor to international human rights in context: law, politics and morals: text and materials, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Finnemore, Martha; Sikkink, Kathryn. (1998) 'International Norm Dynamics and Political Change', in International Organization. vol. 52 (4) , pp.887-917
• (2017) The United Nations special procedures system, Boston: Brill Nijhoff. vol. volume 6
• Boyle, Kevin. (1995) 'Stock-taking on Human Rights: The World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna, 1993', in Politics and human rights, Oxford: Blackwell. vol. v. 43, special issue, pp.79-95
• European Council. (no date) EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2015-2019.
• Kinzelbach, Katrin. (2013) 'Resisting the Power of Human Rights: the People's Republic of China', in The persistent power of human rights: from commitment to compliance, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. vol. 126, pp.164-181
• Griffin, Elizabeth. (2013) 'Ethical Responsibilities of Human Rights NGOs', in International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law. vol. 15 (2) , pp.5-23
• (no date) State of Civil Society Report 2018.
• Forsythe, David P. (2018) 'Human Rights and Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective', in Human rights in international relations, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press., pp.197-239
• Hazel Smith. (2007) 'Humanitarian Diplomacy: Theory and Practice', in Humanitarian diplomacy: practitioners and their craft, Tokyo: United Nations University Press., pp.36-62
• Freedman, Rosa; Houghton, Ruth. (2017) 'Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Politicisation of the Human Rights Council', in Human Rights Law Review. vol. 17 (4) , pp.753-769
• O'Flaherty, Michael. (2011) 'Introduction: Human Rights Diplomacy—Contemporary Perspectives', in Human rights diplomacy: contemporary perspectives, Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. vol. v. 1, pp.1-18
• Joachim, Jutta. (2003) 'Framing Issues and Seizing Opportunities: The UN, NGOs, and Women's Rights', in International Studies Quarterly. vol. 47 (2) , pp.247-274
• Landman, Todd. (c2005) Protecting human rights: a comparative study, Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press.