Active Yet Cautious: How Middle States Navigate Status in the Universal Periodic Review
Park C.-Y.
February 2026John Wiley and Sons Inc
Global Policy
2026#17Issue 158 - 70 pp.
This article examines how states positioned in the middle of the international status hierarchy behave in the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR). While the UPR was established as a cooperative mechanism to move away from confrontational naming and shaming, in practice it has become a reputational arena where states strategically calibrate their engagement. I argue that mid-status states pursue a logic of status–visibility optimization: They maximize participation to enhance recognition but issue only moderate recommendations to minimize reputational risks. Using original data of UPR recommendations and statistical analyses, the study finds that mid-status states are the most active participants but the least severe critics. This pattern produces what is called “vanilla victories,” which is visible but cautious performance that enhances the states standing without significantly advancing human rights. These findings contribute to debates on status-seeking and international human rights institutions and highlight the limitations of the UPR as a mechanism for substantive rights protection.
human rights , middle states , naming and shaming , status , Universal Periodic Review
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Department of Political Science and International Relations, School of Sciences and Humanities, Nazarbayev University, Astana City, Kazakhstan
Department of Political Science and International Relations
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026