Kathryn Sikkink is a leading scholar of human rights, particularly international norms and institutions, transnational advocacy networks, the impact of human rights law and policies, and transitional justice. She developed the concept of the “norms cascade” with Martha Finnemore and the five-stage “spiral model” of adoption of human rights norms.
Professional positions
- 2014–present: Carol K. Pforzheimer Professor (2014–2019) and Ryan Family Professor of Human Rights Policy (2014–present), Harvard Kennedy School
- 1988–2013: Assistant (1998–1994), associate (1994–1998), and full (1998–2013) professor of political science, University of Minnesota
Notable publications
- Sikkink, Kathryn. 2020. The Hidden Face of Rights: Toward a Politics of Responsibilities. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
- Sikkink, Kathryn. 2017. Evidence for Hope: Making Human Rights Work in the 21st Century. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
- Risse, Thomas, Stephen C. Ropp, and Kathryn Sikkink, eds. 1999. The Power of Human Rights: International Norms and Domestic Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Keck, Margaret E., and Kathryn Sikkink. 1998. Activists beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Degrees
- PhD, political science and international relations, Columbia University
- MA, political science and international relations, Columbia University
- BA, international relations, University of Minnesota
