Diffusing Human Rights Standards: Minority Rights in Estonia and Slovakia - Softcover

Brosig, Malte

Softcover

ISBN 10: 3846507628 ISBN 13: 9783846507629

Publisher: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing, 2012

Synopsis

This study examines the question of how European minority rights and non-discrimination standards have diffused from the international arena into Estonia and Slovakia. The main aim is to explore and compare the conditions for formal legal norm adoption with the conditions for norm implementation. This thesis starts with a critical analysis of the spiral and the external incentives models of norm diffusion. Based on the two models this thesis develops three diffusion dimensions – the quality of norms, international organisations, and domestic level agents. Each dimension integrates rationalist and constructivist concepts of norm diffusion. It is argued that a theoretical synthesis of rationalist and constructivist approaches best accounts for the process of norm diffusion. Empirical data suggests that the legal adoption of minority rights norms was crucially influenced by EU conditionality and external incentives in combination with minority political participation, and international socialisation. However, the diffusion process was not completely successful. The empirical analysis reveals significant implementation deficits. Frequent racial discrimination towards Roma in Slovakia a

About this title

About the Author

Malte Brosig is a Lecturer in International Relations at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He holds a PhD from the University of Portsmouth. He is also a non-resident senior research associate at the European Centre for Minority Issues in Flensburg.

Edition details

• Publisher: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3846507628
• ISBN 13: 9783846507629
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272