ATLANTA — The International Studies Association (ISA) held its annual conference from April 3-6, 2024 in San Francisco, California. With a theme ‘Putting Relationality at the Centre of International Studies,’ Georgia State University student, PhD Candidate in the Department of Communication, and TCV Presidential Fellow, Alex Keyu Chen presented research titled “Rivalry on Human Rights, Discourse Analysis of Human Rights Reports of the United States and China”.
Abstract
The issue of human rights has become a highly contentious aspect of China-U.S. relations. Annually, both countries release “Human Rights Reports” to highlight each other’s perceived poor human rights records. Previous literature on China and the U.S. human rights has often focused more on cultural aspects or foreign policy, while paying less attention to the narrative itself. This study addresses this gap by exploring China’s human rights narrative through a comparative analysis of how the U.S. and China depict each other in their annual human rights reports. Employing computer-assisted topic modeling and qualitative linguistic analysis of reports from 2001 to 2021, sampled every five years, this study reveals the divergent strategies each government uses in portraying the other’s human rights record. The results have implications for China-U.S. bilateral relations and the broader context of great power competition.
ISA – Representing 100 countries, ISA has over 6,500 members worldwide and is the most respected and widely known scholarly association in this field. Endeavoring to create communities of scholars dedicated to international studies, ISA is divided into 7 geographic subdivisions of ISA (Regions), 29 thematic groups (Sections) and 4 Caucuses which provide opportunities to exchange ideas and research with local colleagues and within specific subject areas. Submissions are open for ISA 2025 Annual Convention.