Grounding global norms in domestic politics: Advocacy coalitions and the convention on the rights of the child in Argentina

Abstract

How do global rights regimes promote compliance? Can they form the basis for effective advocacy campaigns at the domestic level? In this paper, we address these questions via a case study of the role played by the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Argentinian politics. We argue that ratification of the convention strengthened the coherence and leverage of rights-based domestic activists and ultimately led to the introduction of a new rights-inspired legal code for children. We trace the emergence of a local compliance coalition for children's rights and the subsequent campaign for rights-based reform. Our analysis suggests that global rights conventions can alter the domestic political opportunity for advocacy, strengthen rights-based claims and bring about changes on the ground.