The Turn to Metrics

Abstract

Until recently, qualititative methods have been dominant in human rights practice. Nonetheless, the field has not been immune from the global shift towards quantitative measurement and the community of human rights activists, professionals, officials and scholars has begun to explore ways in which different metrics can establish the denial of rights, reveal breaches of obligations and justify new laws or policies. With the advantage of communicative simplicity, quantitative approaches hold out the promise of providing more aggregative and systemic weight to evidential claims. In this introduction to a special issue on the topic, we categorise and showcase different methods, provide critical perspectives, and raise opportunities and challenges for future theory and practice.