Latent Human Rights Scores Version 2

The latent Human Rights Protection Scores (version 2) available in this section were generated using a dynamic ordinal item-response theory model discussed at length in the two papers listed below. The newest version of this model is also dynamic in the treatment of the item-difficulty cut-points of the latent variable model (labeled the Dynamic Standard Model). This parameterization allows the model to account for systematic changes to the human rights country reports published annually by the US Department of State and Amnesty International. These documents are used to code standards based human rights variables by several different coding projects. According to these indicators, human rights practices have not improved over the past 35 years, despite the spread of human rights norms, better monitoring, and the increasing prevalence of electoral democracy. This empirical pattern is not an indication of stagnating human rights practices. Instead, it reflects a systematic change in the way monitors, like Amnesty International and the US State Department, encounter and interpret information about abuses. The new latent Human Rights Protection Scores (version 2) demonstrate that respect for human rights has improved over time. Information about the earlier version of this model and data are available in the version 1 sections below. The JAGS code used to estimate the models are avai lable in the Appendix section of the article.