New textbook on human rights

Fifteen years after the first edition came out, we finally have a completely updated and overhauled version of our textbook ready for you! We hope you will find it just as useful, or possibly even more so, than the first edition! Check out The Politics of Human Rights. The Quest for Dignity in the 21st Century.

Reviews and Endorsements

“The Politics of Human Rights offers an insightful and empirically grounded exploration of human rights, their violations, and the mechanisms designed to protect them. This revised edition integrates rigorous scientific analysis with real-world case studies, making it an invaluable resource for students, scholars, and practitioners. With its focus on the universal nature of human rights and the shared responsibility to uphold them, this book is an essential guide for understanding both the challenges and the progress in the fight for human dignity.” Bonny Ibhawoh - Senator William McMaster Chair in Global Human Rights, McMaster University

“This is an excellent introduction to the politics of human rights and what we know from existing research. It provides a framework to help readers understand how challenges to human rights arise, highlighting the specific actors and their choices, as well the scope for efforts to improve human rights.” Kristian Skrede Gleditsch - Regius Professor of Political Science, University of Essex & Research Associate, Peace Research Institute Oslo

“This book is a must-read primer on human rights, perfect for undergraduate courses, graduate seminars, as a comprehensive guide for scholars moving into studying human rights, and as a reference tool for scholars already studying human rights or repression. It expansively covers essential topics – the legal definitions of human rights, data collection on human rights violations, the causes of human rights violations, and the prevention of, and societal recovery from, human rights violations – but does so accessibly and with a myriad of engaging examples. The book also smartly engages a variety of critical contemporary issues, including the human rights of migrants, corporations and organized crime as human rights violators, police violence in the US in a human rights context, and many others. The chapter on human rights and the Internet is an incredible and compelling synthesis of a diverse set of sub-fields.” Jennifer Earl - Chair and Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Delaware

Dr. Meridith LaVelle new Humboldt Fellow

We are very excited that Meritidh LaVelle has joined our team as Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow! For the next two years, she will studying the link between privacy rights and the right to physical integrity.

Article in FORUM Magazine on the project on human rights.

n der neuesten Ausgabe des Uni-Magazins FORUM mit dem Schwerpunkt Demokratieforschung berichtet Sabine Carey über ihr aktuelles DFG Projekt. Zusammen mit ihrem Team an der TU München und der University of Southampton unter­sucht sie die Haltung der Bevölkerung in Deutschland zur Menschenrechten.

Read the article in full (in German).

COM'LAB SciencePod

Science is often criticized as costly or unnecessary, but Sabine Carey shows that it is essential for progress, democracy, and our future. In an episode of the COM'LAB SciencePod, she highlights the importance of research for our society and its role in enabling well-founded decisions. She explains how scientific work provides long-term impulses for technological and social progress. The discussion makes clear that science funding should be seen in a more nuanced way and its value for democracy more strongly emphasized.

The COM'LAB SciencePod is a Trans­forMA project funded by the Bundes­ministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF).

Talk at the "Conflict and Change" research seminar

I am excited to discuss an ongoing project with Katrin Paula, Rob Johns and Nadine O’Shea on human rights attitudes at the “Conflict and Change” research seminar at University College London on 30 April 2025.

Event series "Democracy needs discourse" - contribution to kick-off event

It was a pleasure to participate in the first event of the series “Demokratie braucht Diskurs” (Democracy needs discourse), organized by the institutions of higher education. The first event took place at the University of Mannheim, moderated by Karsten Kammholz, Chief editor of the Mannheimer Morgen. I spoke about the link between democracy and human rights and the role of public opinion in this connection. My colleagues from the University of Mannheim, Prof. Dr. Svenja Behrendt, Dr. Philipp Müller and Prof. Dr. Heiko Paulheim highlighted different aspects of democracy, basic rights, the media and AI.

Presentation at ISA Conference

Sabine Carey is presenting first results of the project on perceptions of human rights at the Annual Convention of the International Studies Association in Chicago, 2-5 March 2025. This is a joint research paper with Katrin Paula (TUM), Nadine O’Shea (TUM) and Rob Johns ( University of Southampton).

Sabine Carey at roundtable on the domestic-international nexus

Sabine Carey is participating in a roundtable on the nexus between domestic and international politics. The event is organized by Alexandru Grigorescu, Molly Melin, Jay Kao, Sooyeon Kang and Sarah Maxey and takes place at Loyola University Chicago on 1 March 2025.

Interview in the "Mannheimer Morgen" about the situation in Syria

Sabine Carey was interviewed by the “Mannheimer Morgen” newspaper about the situation in Syria after President Bashar al-Assad’s removal from power. The article appeared on 11 Dec. 2024 (sorry, it is behind a paywall).

Online info session for female students about PhD programmes in political science

On 15 January 2025, 10am-11am CET, I will hold another informal zoom session for female students who are potentially considering pursuing a PhD in political science. I will be joined by Prof. Kristine Eck (Aalborg University) and Dr. Anna-Lena Hönig (University of Konstanz) to discuss:

• what to consider when deciding to pursue a PhD, incl. pros & cons of a PhD

• how to identify for a suitable PhD programme

The goals of this informal session are:

• to provide you with basic information about the format of PhD programmes/positions in Europe

• to put you in a better position for making an informed choice about pursuing a PhD in political science in Europe

• most importantly, to provide a save space for you to ask questions.

Please note that we will not provide information about specific funding programmes.

Interested? To register for the online event, please email us at phd-info@uni-mannheim.de by 12 January 2025 with your name and the MA programme you are currently enrolled in.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Sabine Carey at Leiden University

Sabine Carey was presenting some early insights from the project “Perceptions of Human Rights” at the workshop New Developments within the Study of Political Conflict and Violence. The workshop was organized by Roos van der Haer, Babak Rezaeedaryakenari and Matt Digiuseppe ant took place at Leiden University from 26-27 November 2024.

Sabine Carey at Peace Science Conference

As Councilor at the Peace Science Society, Sabine Carey will be participating in their annual conference at the University of Michigan, 7-9 November 2024. She will also present a collaborative project with Eline Drury Løvlien and Marie-Therese Meye.

"Fireside chat" at the Workshop on Conflict Dynamics

Sabine Carey talks about “Post-Doc Opportunities in our Field” at the Workshop Conflict Dynamics. The workshop is co-organized by the TUM and University of Konstanz and takes place in Burghausen from 9-10 October 2024.