Democracies are generally known to protect human rights more effectively than other regime types. In the wake of 9/11 and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic, research has highlighted that people are willing to limit the protection of human rights in the face of perceived threats. People are particularly likely to support the constraints of human rights if they do not expect that they are themselves affected by these constraints.

But we do not know whether people really appreciate the potential consequences of restricting basic rights when they are asked to weigh up the cost of protecting human rights in the face of certain threats.. We do not know whether they would be less willing to support limiting basic rights if they were reminded of the importance of protecting them.. More fundamentally, we do not know exactly how different people understand and perceive the abstract concept of human rights and how support for basic rights can be strengthened.

In this DFG-funded project (2023-2026), Sabine Carey, Katrin Paula, Rob Johns and Nadine O’Shea explore the resilience of human rights support among the German adult population in the face of different threats. We address the following key questions:

Key research questions:

• How do different frames for human rights shape support for these rights in the face of different threats?

• What rights do the German public perceive as important human rights that are worth protecting at home and abroad?

• How willing are people to restrict human rights if they are reminded of the value of protecting basic rights?

• Why are people willing to support limitations on human rights of groups they might not approve of?