Abstract

This article elaborates a theoretically oriented account of recent changes in the foreign and domestic human rights policies of the Mexican government. Referring to two different frameworks offered by international relations literature (the “boomerang-spiral” model and the “locking in” argument), the article shows that the changes in Mexico’s human rights policies are best explained by taking into consideration transnational and domestic processes. Pressure and rhetorical entrapment, generated by the activism of a transnational advocacy network, the political preferences of newly elected democratic leaders, and the role played by national decision makers are key explanatory factors that complement each other in this case study.

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