The Power of Human Rights: International Norms and Domestic Change

Kathryn Sikkink is the Ryan Family Professor of Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the Carol K. Pforzheimer Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. While in residence Kathryn is researching the role of Latin American jurists, diplomats, and social movements in contributing to the idea and practice of the international protection of human rights in the period 1945–1990. Human rights policies are sometimes associated with the United States and Western Europe, but Sikkink, using archival research and interviews, explores the often overlooked activities of individuals from Latin America in furthering human rights law. She hopes to understand the political and ideational sources of these policy initiatives. Kathryn has been a Fulbright Scholar in Argentina and a Guggenheim Fellow. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the Council on Foreign Relations. Sikkink holds an MA and PhD from Columbia University.