When should we expect compliance with international human rights norms? Previous literature on the causal mechanisms underlying compliance have focused independently on the roles of state willingness, thought of as the preferences of the regime leadership, and on state capacity, in improving human rights practices within a state. We build an argument that neither of these factors are sufficient on their own to improve compliance with human rights norms. Instead, improved human rights practices require both “the will and the way.” Our central hypothesis is that capacities and willingness, acting jointly, are key determinants of improvements in compliance with international human rights norms. The paper confirms this proposition using two-staged and single-stage regression models and a time-series cross-sectional approach at the country-year level. A highly capable bureaucracy and a state that has signaled its willingness through the acceptance of individual complaint and inquiry procedures in the UN treaty regime are jointly necessary for improved human rights practices.

我们什么时候应该期待遵守国际人权规范？先前关于合规性因果机制的文献独立地关注国家意愿的作用，被认为是政权领导的偏好，以及国家能力在改善国家人权实践方面的作用。我们提出一个论点，即这些因素本身都不足以改善对人权规范的遵守。相反，改善人权实践需要“意志和方式”。我们的中心假设是能力和联合行动的意愿是改善遵守国际人权规范的关键决定因素。该论文使用两阶段和单阶段回归模型以及国家年级别的时间序列横截面方法证实了这一命题。一个高度能干的官僚机构和一个通过接受联合国条约制度中的个人投诉和调查程序表示愿意的国家，对于改善人权实践来说是共同必要的。