Transformation from within: Chinese agency and international human rights norms, 1978--2005.

摘要

This dissertation seeks to document and explain the changes in China's human rights policy since 1978 by examining both international and domestic factors. While conventional wisdom suggests that external pressures play a major role in shaping China's human rights policy since 1978, my research finds that internal factors are more important in explaining the changes in China's human rights policy. The central argument will be that the Chinese government's embrace of international human rights norms cannot be solely explained by external mechanisms such as pressure and socialization. Rather, the Chinese government also to a degree voluntarily chooses to accept international human rights norms through mechanisms of self-reflection, practical evaluation, and creative transformation. Thus, my study will shed new light on the conditions under which states embrace, modify, or resist international human rights norms. Also, my study develops a theory of state agency and as such help us understand how state as agents can act reflexively and creatively within international structures. In doing so, it highlights the importance of agency in understanding international politics.