| Building on the work of Hedley Bull and the English School of International Relations this dissertation provides a current analysis of the international society and argues that a fundamental shift has occurred within the society since Bull wrote The Anarchical Society. States are no longer the only social members. Nonstate actors have taken an active and, in the case of human rights, a welcome role within the society.; Through a series of qualitative case studies the history and development of regional human rights regimes in the Americas, Europe, and Africa provide a lens through which the international society is examined and evaluated. In each of the three case studies the role of nonstate actors within a regime is evaluated based on a three-pronged test designed to assess the level of nonstate membership in the society. The test considers the extent of nonstate participation, the existence of meaningful rights bestowed both within the regime and by the regime, and the existence of meaningful duties or responsibilities expected of nonstate actors.; Although patterns of interaction differ, nonstate actors relate to international human rights regimes in eight key ways: petitions, fact finding, legal assistance, amicus briefs, lobbying and consultation, funding, education and promotion, and development. Through these interactions nonstate actors have mobilized regimes to the point that regimes have accorded nonstate actors with meaningful rights and have also created a real sense of obligation, or duty, on the part of nonstate actors. The combination of these three elements: influence, rights, and duties enhances the status of nonstate actors to such an extent that they have been brought into the sphere of action that Hedley Bull terms the international society. |
