The Political Economy of Human Rights Scandals
28 Pages Posted: 26 Aug 2012 Last revised: 7 Apr 2013
Date Written: August 25, 2012
Abstract
This paper develops the political economy of human rights scandals involving government agencies. Human rights scandals occur when violations of human rights are made public and cause, or threaten to cause, damage to the reputation of the agencies involved. It is argued that human rights scandals serve as “fire alarms” which alert legislators and the public that existing rules are failing to prevent discretionary human rights abuses by government agents. An analysis of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal is provided to illustrate the economic approach to human rights scandals.
Keywords: Abu Ghraib prison, Dehumanization, Human rights, Human rights scandal, rules
JEL Classification: D73, F59, Z18
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation