The Regime Theories: Useful Frameworks for Analysing Human Rights Issues?

Abstract

International regimes have come to occupy an increasing space and importance within both politics among nations and the literature on international relations. This is so simply because of the ever-increasing need for fruitful international cooperation in the face of increasing and urgent problems facing the whole humanity. However, the related academic debate is in a state of major dissent regarding the conceptualisation of regimes, including their formation, maintenance and effectiveness. Human rights area is not immune from this state of dissent and confusion, and even more so because of the seeming resistance of human rights issues to international cooperation. This article addresses these issues and does so in three parts. First, I review the major theoretical approaches to the conceptualisation of regimes. Second, I explain the implications of this review for human rights regimes. And finally, I explore the motivations of international actors to cooperate under the dominant and competing regime theories, and examine their relevance to human rights issues.

Keywords

International Regimes, Human Rights, Neoliberalism, Realism, Cognitivism.

Citation

Aksoy, Sevilay Z., “The Regime Theories: Useful Frameworks for Analysing Human Rights Issues?”, International Relations, Volume 2, Issue 5 (Spring 2005), pp. 1-23.

Affiliations

• Sevilay Z. Aksoy, Assistant Prof. Dr., Dokuz Eylul University, Department of International Relations