Human Rights Quarterly
Volume 38, Number 1, February 2016
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/human_rights_quarterly/toc/hrq.38.1.html

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Articles
Rigorous Morality: Norms, Values, and the Comparative Politics of Human Rights
pp. 1-20
Todd Landman
ABSTRACT:
This article argues that there is a strong role for empirical analysis to be used to address fundamental normative questions. Using human rights as an example, the article shows that the evolution of the international regime of human rights provides a standard against which country level performance can be both judged and explained through the application of empirical approaches in comparative politics. It argues further that different kinds of human rights measures (events, standards, surveys, and official statistics) and comparative methods (large-N, small-N, and single-country studies) offer systematic ways in which to map, to explain, and to understand the variation in human rights abuse around the world. The comparative politics of human rights is a prime example of how the “is” of the world can be used to address the “ought” of international human rights theory, philosophy, and law. The example of human rights analysis in comparative politics shows a strong role for value-based and problem-based research that remains systematic in its approach while at the same time producing outputs that are of public value.

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Uncloaking Secrecy: International Human Rights Law in Terrorism Cases
pp. 58-84
Jeffrey Davis
Abstract
ABSTRACT:
When those swept up in counterterrorism operations try to hold governments accountable for rights violations, legal secrecy doctrines such as the “state secrets privilege” and “public interest immunity” frequently derail their efforts. This article shows the effects of legal secrecy doctrines on efforts to hold officials accountable for rights violations in counterterrorism cases. It sets out the limits imposed by international human rights law on these secrecy doctrines, and it explores how these limits are handled in US and British courts. Finally, it sets out requirements in order for legal secrecy practices to comply with international human rights law.

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Reaching the Tipping Point?: Emerging International Human Rights Norms Pertaining to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
pp. 134-163
Elizabeth Baisley
ABSTRACT:
This article challenges a few assumptions about emerging international norms pertaining to sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). First, although UN experts and expert bodies were the first to address SOGI issues at the UN, they have not been the most progressive. Second, social movement actors have not always been the most effective norm entrepreneurs. Third, although states are often accused of failing to take action on SOGI issues, there is a clear, emerging pattern of state involvement and progress. The norms constructed by states are less radical than those constructed by UN experts and civil society organizations, but they are more effective.