International Law and Human Rights
International Law and Human Rights is a research topic within Political Science and International Relations. Science Explorer counts 33k research works in it since 1950. 16.2% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers focuses on the intersection of international criminal law, human rights obligations, and global governance. It explores topics such as state responsibility, norm conflicts, transnational legal pluralism, and the role of the Security Council in addressing war crimes and human rights violations.
- International Criminal Law
- Human Rights
- Global Governance
- International Humanitarian Law
- State Responsibility
- Security Council
- Norm Conflicts
- Transnational Legal Pluralism
- Sovereignty
- War Crimes
- Research works
- 33k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 5.3k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 16.2% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- +2% the tick is no change
Which countries lead International Law and Human Rights research?
By volume, the United States and the United Kingdom publish the most (764 and 535 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 United States 764 works
- 2 United Kingdom 535 works
- 3 Germany 222 works
- 4 Australia 177 works
- 5 Netherlands 177 works
- 6 Indonesia 174 works
- 7 Russia 168 works
- 8 France 166 works
- 9 India 136 works
- 10 China 131 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead International Law and Human Rights research?
By volume in 2022–2025, University of Oxford publishes the most International Law and Human Rights research, followed by University of Cambridge and University of Amsterdam.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 University of Oxford United Kingdom 39 works
- 2 University of Cambridge United Kingdom 35 works
- 3 University of Amsterdam Netherlands 31 works
- 4 Human Growth Foundation United States 27 works
- 5 University of Helsinki Finland 27 works
- 6 Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies Switzerland 25 works
- 7 Leiden University Netherlands 24 works
- 8 University of Copenhagen Denmark 24 works
- 9 King's College London United Kingdom 22 works
- 10 The University of Sydney Australia 22 works
Who are the leading researchers in International Law and Human Rights?
The most-cited researchers publishing on International Law and Human Rights include William Diebold and Robert O. Keohane.
- 1 William Diebold 3.8k citations
- 2 Robert O. Keohane 2.7k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is International Law and Human Rights research done?
The largest centres of International Law and Human Rights research in 2022–2025 are London (United Kingdom), Moscow (Russia), New York (United States) and Paris (France). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in The Hague, Geneva and Riga.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
- 1 London United Kingdom 148 works
- 2 Moscow Russia 93 works
- 3 New York United States 88 works
- 4 Paris France 67 works
- 5 Amsterdam Netherlands 58 works
- 6 Washington D.C. United States 58 works
- 7 Sydney Australia 56 works
- 8 Oxford United Kingdom 49 works
- 9 Geneva Switzerland 47 works
- 10 Kyiv Ukraine 46 works
Where it is the local speciality
- The HagueNL · 21.8 works21×
- GenevaCH · 46.7 works12×
- RigaLV · 22.5 works9.1×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in International Law and Human Rights than the world average.
Where is the best place to study International Law and Human Rights?
Among universities, judged by research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam and O. P. Jindal Global University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Netherlands | 65.3 | 18.0% | 10.2× | 18 | +100.6% |
| 2 | University of Amsterdam Netherlands | 64.6 | 16.9% | 12.6× | 31 | -5.6% |
| 3 | O. P. Jindal Global University India | 64.3 | 12.8% | 35.7× | 15 | +207.3% |
| 4 | Queen Mary University of London United Kingdom | 62.2 | 31.3% | 7.0× | 13 | +84.3% |
| 5 | Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies Switzerland | 61.6 | 20.6% | 136.0× | 25 | -20.1% |
| 6 | Leiden University Netherlands | 60.7 | 13.6% | 15.1× | 24 | +32.9% |
| 7 | University of Oxford United Kingdom | 60.6 | 19.5% | 6.5× | 39 | +8.2% |
| 8 | University of Helsinki Finland | 59.9 | 8.3% | 10.0× | 27 | +72.3% |
| 9 | Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna Italy | 59.0 | 16.0% | 21.7× | 10 | +187.7% |
| 10 | Tilburg University Netherlands | 58.1 | 20.4% | 20.5× | 16 | -4.0% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is International Law and Human Rights research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 2% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2018. The fastest-growing topics are International Law and Human Rights.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.