This thesis investigated the current human rights situation in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Despite initial promises for human rights reforms by allowing girls to go to school and a general...Show moreThis thesis investigated the current human rights situation in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Despite initial promises for human rights reforms by allowing girls to go to school and a general amnesty for those who fought against the Taliban, in reality, neither was upheld. After twenty years of external Western intervention the question then needs to be asked if human rights promotion can achieve lasting institutional change and if so, how? Using the spiral model of human rights promotion and a single-country case study of Afghanistan this thesis analyzed the situation in Afghanistan. As a result, this thesis found that human rights promotion efforts can influence state-building to be both more and less in line with human rights norms. Through the creation and strengthening of a local human rights promotion constituency in a country, it is possible to pressure a regime for change from two fronts. These being the international community and the local constituency. If however this constituency cannot be built and strengthened the international community risks a backlash effect to its promotion efforts which may result in a rally around the flag effect increasing local support for the Taliban. This thesis thus shows that human rights promotion efforts have an important future in building resilience against human rights violations through the creation and supporting of a local human rights promotion constituency.Show less
