민주주의 국가의 인권 정치 : 한국과 스페인의 양심적 병역거부권 인정 문제를 중심으로

This article argues that human rights violations in most countries, especially in democratic countries, occur as a result of normal and routine operations, either intervention or non-intervention, of government organizations and agencies. Also, contrary to the theoretical explanation of the domestic democratic peace theory, the decisions of leaders on human rights issues are more about how to reform policies and institutions that cause repetitive violations of human rights using limited amount of resources rather than about whether to use violence against their citizens at the time of protest or insurgency. When reforms of policies and institutions in various government sectors matter, human rights improvements do not necessarily follow the establishment of democratic institutions but are more likely to occur as the consequence of domestic and, at times, international mobilization of civil society in favor of a specific kind of human rights, which suggest changes in preference and resources are crucial to human rights changes. The cases of Spain and Korea demonstrate that preference changes and civil society mobilization are key factors in human rights improvements.