Why is it relevant to analyse the role played by modern institutions and culture in advancing Human Rights?

The analysis of the role of modern institutions and culture in advancing Human Rights (HR) is essential to understand the conditions that enable or hinder their effective realization. From the New Institutionalism (NI) approach, institutions are understood as central actors shaping political behaviour, as they structure norms, values, identities, and culture. In this framework, culture is conceived as a set of shared norms, meanings, and ideas.

However, although institutional strengthening is an important mechanism to reduce the gap between international human rights treaties and their effective implementation, this has not been sufficient. Institutions are not neutral structures; by reproducing norms and hierarchies, they also reproduce social inequalities (Krook & Mackay, 2010, pp. 3–4, 6–7, 11–12). Consequently, strengthening institutions is not enough, as a critical analysis of the power relations that shape them is also required.

Likewise, culture in its various approaches plays a central role in debates on HR progress. For NI, culture corresponds to shared norms, meanings, and ideas. Also, culture is a constitutive dimension operating within institutions and a mechanism for reproducing power (Krook & Mackay, 2010, pp. 6–7, 7–8, 11). However, it can also be understood as a local normative framework, and here a key analytical tension emerges: when cultural logic prevails over institutional logic, it can generate obstacles or delays in consolidating HR progress (Subedi, Nanau, & Magar, 2021, pp. 529–532).

Similarly, institutional change or advances in HR are often driven by international pressures. However, this process requires critical evaluation, as it can also constitute a form of external power. Under the guise of modern institutions, interventionist practices may be reproduced that do not necessarily lead to substantive HR improvements in local contexts.

Therefore, advancing in the field of HR requires clarifying the roles and limits of NI and culture, especially in contexts where culture is part of the local normative framework and simultaneously a key NI actor. It is also essential to strengthen transparency and accountability to prevent institutions from becoming spaces of political power or vehicles imposing external agendas.

References

Krook, M. L., & Mackay, F. (2010). Gender, Politics and Institutions: Towards a Feminist Institutionalism (1 ed.). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.

Subedi, D. B., Nanau, G., & Magar, D. (2021). From a 'cultural logic' to an 'institutional logic': The politics of human rights in Pacific Island Countries. Journal of human rights, 20(5), 528–546. doi:10.1080/14754835.2021.1947207