The present study asks if children who live in more ethnically and religiously diverse countries have fewer rights, and whether national independent children's rights institutions developed to promote children's rights actually improve children's rights. It has already been established that a country's internal conditions (such as the strength of its democracy) and conditions external to the country (including pressures from international nongovernmental organizations) can promote or hinder human rights. Do these internal and external pressures have similar effects on children's rights?
This study seeks to advance knowledge on human rights in general and on children's rights in particular through the introduction of the Children's Rights Index, an international measure of children's rights for over 160 countries for 2004. It will replicate the Children's Rights Index over five-year intervals for the period 1984 to 2009. This study will compare impacts of independent children's rights institutions and ethnic diversity and religious diversity on changes in children's rights. These analyses will contribute to research on whether internal or external factors are more important to promoting children's rights.
The database containing the Childrens Rights Indices and explanatory factors will permit researchers to examine whether stronger rights are associated with superior outcomes for children. The Children's Rights Indices can be used by national governments and international nongovernmental organizations, such as Save the Children. This study will also host an interactive website with maps containing country-specific information on children's rights.
A Comparative-Historical Analysis of Children’s Rights Brian K. Gran Federal award ID: 1025393 The present study, "A Comparative-Historical Analysis of Children’s Rights," advances knowledge through its findings and development of a new indicator of children’s rights. The present study’s broad impacts include shaping policy and practices of children’s rights through disseminating research findings, consultations, and giving presentations, as well as teaching and guiding students’ research projects. The present study advances knowledge through identifying factors that promote or hinder children’s rights. It introduces the Children’s Rights Index, an international measure of children’s rights. The present study makes intellectual contributions through determining that children living in more diverse countries are entitled to fewer rights, controlling for other influences. In addition, the present study advances knowledge through finding that children’s rights tend to be stronger where democracy is stronger, which parallels research on human rights. The present study has also found that children’s rights are stronger in more affluent countries, lending support to the contention that "rights" require resources. This finding supports the idea of progressive realization, a finding useful to research on human rights. The present study has achieved various broad impacts. The principal investigator has disseminated and will continue to disseminate the present study’s results in ways that are widely available and useful to students, academics, and policymakers. The present study has disseminated findings via conference presentations, invited presentations, and invited lectures. The principal investigator has enjoyed invitations to speak to the Masters of Human Rights Program of the Institut Universitaire Kurt Bösch and Iceland’s Fulbright Commission. The principal investigator has published journal articles and book chapters. He is negotiating a book contract with Polity Press about sociology of children’s rights. In progress are manuscripts for academic journals and a research monograph. The principal investigator has shaped efforts of organizations and individuals that focus on human rights. He has consulted on issues surrounding children’s rights, children’s rights institutions, and indicators of rights. The principal investigator has taught several courses to undergraduate and graduate students focusing on the sociology of law and on children’s rights. As a Fulbright Scholar, he enjoyed the opportunity of teaching a course on children’s rights to graduate students enrolled in the Law School of Reykjavik University. Over this course, the principal investigator used the database as course material. He has taught about methodological challenges to developing the Children’s Rights Index. The principal investigator currently advises a doctoral student on development of a LGTB human rights index. He has advised other projects that seek to develop human rights indicators, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Science and Human Rights Program and Cumberland Lodge.
