Summary By:Mara Estes, Research Assistant, TSEDEQ
Summer, 2005
Trading Human Rights: How Preferential Trade Agreements Influence Government Repression. Emilie M. Hafner-Burton, International Organization, 59:3,593-629
Violations of human rights affect both the well being of a society and economic growth. In order to deal with these issues, agreements have been created to protect human rights. Human rights agreements, or HRA's, a "soft" persuasive tactic, convince governments to follow a certain standard of behavior towards the people. Many scholars believe this is an adequate way to persuade officials to stop abusing human rights. Preferential trade agreements on the other hand use coercion to create change. HRA's main focus is on human rights, where as preferential trade agreements, or PTA's address human rights issues through economic means. PTA's are viewed as "harder" than HRAs, and create a standard that must be followed in order to gain from the agreement.Those who uphold the standard are rewarded and reap material benefits. Emilie M. Hafner-Burton weighs the pros and cons of each tactic, exploring the effectiveness of both types of agreements.
The data used in this study was based upon two previously established data sources, that of Poe and Tate, and Gibney. Poe and Tate studied 153 government levels of repression from 1976 to 1993. Gibney's data was collected from 1980 to 2002, focusing on repression levels from 141 states and territories. Amnesty International issued the data for both sources. Hafner-Burton used information from both of these sources to create '"repression indicators" from 176 states from 1976 to 2001. Some of the variables include democracy, population density, trade, GDP, and current PTA's. The data concludes that states that participate in PTA's are less likely to violate human rights, as well as decrease repression.
Hafner-Burton states the reason behind repression is the benefits a government may gain from this practice. Numerous sources state the potential power and wealth that can be obtained from tyranny is the main appeal, and is used as a form to gain control. As a result of this benefit, it becomes very hard to solely persuade one to change their ways. Amnesty International has cited numerous cases in which political leaders use repression as way to gain power and redistribute wealth. For these reasons, the issue of dealing with human rights is deeply rooted within a government's system, and requires a tactic that is realistic and effective.
The benefits of human rights agreements, or HRA's are that they are not meant to be threatening or viewed as punishable treaties.The goal is to inform and encourage repressors to adapt new ideas and principles that are not as damaging to human rights. The purpose is to teach repressive officials about beliefs that are widely accepted by international law. This is done through persuasion to slowly change government's viewpoints.The downfall of this method is that it is not efficient. It has been proven that "individuals adhere strongly to their beliefs even after new and better information has been presented. " Trying to persuade officials to change their deeply rooted values simply through encouragement and education is not convincing. The reasoning behind repression is the economic gain that is received. There is little incentive to adapt new practices and standards if there is no gain in return.In addition, new beliefs that may be adapted can be quickly overruled when a new official comes into power.
In contrast to HRA's, preferential trade agreements address issues of human rights through coercion rewarded by economic benefits. Very simply, those who adhere to certain human right standards are rewarded with material profits. Those who do not follow theses guidelines are punished through the agreement. Through this method, officials are presented with a more appealing reason to adhere to certain human rights laws. The economic gain that is received offers an alternative to repression that could be worthwhile for a government. The incentive and motivation created by this method opens up an opportunity for human right laws to be adapted that otherwise may not have been considered. An example of a current HRA's agreement that is in existence is the African Growth and Opportunity Act. This agreement between the U.S. and certain countries of Africa calls for increased trade and investment through specific adherence to certain workers rights. In the past Coted'lvoire has been denied trade due to harmful government regulations. However, the U.S. has granted Cote d'lvoire membership to this Act based on the agreement that an increased protection for workers rights will be constructed.
A government's main reason to opt for tyranny or repression is due to the economic benefits that are gained from these practices. The control and wealth received make these methods practical and sensible for certain political leaders. In attempt to convince officials to adapt new practices that do not violate human rights while striving for economic profit, both human right agreements and preferential trade agreements have been created. Despite the good intentions that HRAs have promoted through their dedication to human rights, persuasion is not enough. The system that PTAs have created through rewards and punishments, countries are provided with an alternative way to gain economically that is not damaging to human rights. PTA's coerce countries to adhere to human rights if they wish to be rewarded with material benefits.
Encouraging the participation and enforcement of PTAs can take a step in making human rights a more pertinent issue. Reasons behind human rights violation are linked with economic issues. When addressing human rights, we cannot just look at the violation, but the economic reasoning behind it. In attempts to reconcile the violations as well as the economic motives, the issue is handled in a more complete perspective. Here we see why PTAs are more affective than HRAs. By getting at the root of human right violations, a more beneficial method to solve these problems can be found. In creating and enforcing preferential trade agreements more realistic and effective steps can be taken to help prevent and stop human right violations.