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
This research aims to examine and elaborate on possible changes in the degrees of respect for human rights in Libya and Tunisia before and after the events that took place in 2011, which are known...Show moreThis research aims to examine and elaborate on possible changes in the degrees of respect for human rights in Libya and Tunisia before and after the events that took place in 2011, which are known as the Arab Spring uprisings. By examining the spiral model by Risse and Sikkink (1999) this research is set up to trace a process of change in the degree of respect for human rights towards compliance to human rights norms in both countries. Results show in the case of Libya that the mobilization of both national as well as international actors evidently contributed to regime change during the Arab Spring and improved human rights conditions to a certain extent. Comparable transnational mobilization took place in Tunisia, where domestic opposition was likewise blocked. Tunisia’s post-Arab Spring period marks a time of considerable improvements in human rights conditions and the general respect for human rights. Although human rights violations are still occurring in both countries, the evaluation of past research and the tracing of current transnational involvement with respect to human rights conditions can contribute to the scientific and public understanding of the importance of human rights advocacy. In the long run, the mobilization and support of transnational human rights organizations continues to contribute to future compliance to human rights norms, in these countries and around the globe.Show less
