Dr. James Ron has over three decades of experience in international development and human rights-focused research. In 2017, he published Taking Root: Public Opinion and Human Rights in the Global South with Oxford University Press, in collaboration with Shannon Golden of the Center for Victims of Torture, David Crow of the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE) in Mexico City, and Archana Pandya, of openGlobalRights.
The term Global South refers to low and middle income countries. In Taking Root, Ron and his colleagues investigate prevailing opinions on human rights in four countries: India, Mexico, Morocco, and Nigeria. Overall, their findings show that individuals are largely supportive of both socio-economic and civil and political rights, and have reasonably high levels of trust in local human rights organizations. The book also explores the impact of religiosity on support for human rights, and finds a difference between "social religiosity," defined as frequency of going to mosque, temple, or church, operates differently than "personal religiosity," defined as the importance of God in daily life and the number of times a person prays per day. Social religiosity is associated with less trust in local rights organizations, while personal religiosity is associated with greater trust. Religiousity, in other words, has a complex relationship with individuals' attitudes towards human rights.
The term Global South refers to low and middle income countries. In Taking Root, Ron and his colleagues investigate prevailing opinions on human rights in four countries: India, Mexico, Morocco, and Nigeria. Overall, their findings show that individuals are largely supportive of both socio-economic and civil and political rights, and have reasonably high levels of trust in local human rights organizations. The book also explores the impact of religiosity on support for human rights, and finds a difference between "social religiosity," defined as frequency of going to mosque, temple, or church, operates differently than "personal religiosity," defined as the importance of God in daily life and the number of times a person prays per day. Social religiosity is associated with less trust in local rights organizations, while personal religiosity is associated with greater trust. Religiousity, in other words, has a complex relationship with individuals' attitudes towards human rights.
