Northwestern Pritzker School of Law Scholarly Commons
Abstract
A state has the authority to determine its human rights policy, and such power is part of a state\u27s sovereignty assets. Misuse of \u27human rights control\u27 generates negative externalities beyond mere altruistic concerns, and such externality problems can be solved either by creating an efficient market or by institutionalizing a global treaty regime. Relying on the notion of behavioral sovereignty, this note analyzes how the power of the states affects the international political market where a state\u27s legal sovereignties are traded, and discusses how the availability of military action changes this analysis. This note argues that the international political market is an economically efficient method for solving human rights problems and that current human rights treaties have played a significant role in reducing transaction costs, thus making the market approach cheaper than military action or institutionalization
