Hypocrisy and Human Rights examines what human rights pressure does when it does not work. Repressive states with absolutely no intention of complying with their human rights obligations often change course dramatically in response to international pressure. They create toothless commissions, permit but then obstruct international observers' visits, and pass showpiece legislation while simultaneously bolstering their repressive capacity.

Covering debates over transitional justice in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and other countries, Kate Cronin-Furman investigates the diverse ways in which repressive states respond to calls for justice from human rights advocates, UN officials, and Western governments who add their voices to the victims of mass atrocities to demand accountability. She argues that although international pressure cannot elicit compliance in the absence of domestic motivations to comply, the complexity of the international system means that there are multiple audiences for both human rights behavior and advocacy and that pressure can produce valuable results through indirect paths.

Kate Cronin-Furman is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at University College London. Follow her on X @kcroninfurman.

Nonetheless, the book is otherwise a concise yet comprehensive account of how states respond to international pressure when creating justice mechanisms. CroninFurman's analysis is an essential read for anyone wanting to understand both how human rights advocacy works and how civil society organizations should engage on the international stage when they seek to pressure governments to restore and preserve human rights.

Beth Simmons, University of Pennsylvania, author of Mobilizing for Human Rights:

Kate Cronin-Furman presents a compelling narrative on the possibilities and limits of pressure for rights accountability, showing how state leaders that engage in massive human rights atrocities try to thread the needle of satisfying external critics while keeping control over domestic opposition.

Beth Van Schaack, Stanford Law School, author of Imagining Justice for Syria :

An expert on international justice, Kate Cronin-Furman uses rich cases studies and astute analysis to speak to the imperative of ensuring unrelenting pressure by justice entrepreneurs; building broad coalitions between governments and civil society actors in support of justice; and imposing tangible consequences for such half-measures.

Victor Peskin, Arizona State University, author of International Justice in Rwanda and the Balkans:

Hypocrisy and Human Rights offers a novel theory and fresh approach to understanding the political maneuvering that states complicit in mass atrocities employ to avoid rigorous criminal accountability. Anchored in deep fieldwork and keen political analysis, it presents ideas that are original, intriguing, counter intuitive, and compelling.