Security threats and fragile commitments:
Stress-testing German support for human rights at home and abroad

DFG-funded project (2023-2026)

This project investigates whether and how support for human rights can be strengthened in times of crisis. Across different innovative survey experiments fielded on the German adult population, we explore theoretically and empirically how support for human rights is shaped by potential threats people might be faced with, the types of rights that could be constrained to tackle the threat, and by exposure to deliberative arguments about the trade-off between security and rights.

By testing the malleability of attitudes towards different rights under different scenarios, we generate new insights on which rights are seen as more or less contestable by different societal groups and individuals, using different arguments in support for human rights. Through a combination of survey and experimental methods, we map attitudes to human rights among the German population, test the fragility of these commitments when their universality and unconditionality are contested, and assess whether normative or instrumental arguments can bolster citizens' defence of their basic rights and of the role of human rights in Germany’s foreign policy.

Collaborators

Prof. Dr. Katrin Paula, Technical University Munich, Co-PI
Prof. Dr. Robert Johns, University of Southampton
Dr. Nadine O’Shea, Technical University Munich

Events

10-12 April 2024 Workshop with Bert Bakker, Anita Gohdes and Neil Mitchell to finalize survey experiments
2-5 March 2025 Presentation at the International Studies Association Annual Convention in Chicago