Between Principle and Practice

A comparative analysis of the discrepancy between government's words and actions with regard to human rights policy. This work examines the human rights diplomacy of Canada, the Netherlands, and Norway, all prosperous industrial democracies with an international reputation for protesting human rights abuses, from the mid-1980s to the early-1990s. The author reveals that even these countries are seldom prepared to sacrifice short-run economic or political interests to protest gross and systematic human rights abuses beyond their border. Based on case studies of five third world countries - Sri Lanka, the Phillippines, China, Indonesia, and Surinam - the book explores the extent which policy principles were applied in practice, showing that consistent, co-ordinated, and principled action is elusive even for countries with a reputation for internationalism. The author highlights the growing rift between North Atlantic democracies and emerging Asian economic powers, the effectiveness of using aid sanctions to defend human rights, and the vicissitudes of human rights programming in emerging democracies.