Heidi Nichols Haddad

Associate Professor of Politics Heidi Haddad teaches courses on international relations, human rights, NGOs, global cities and global governance. She is also the organizer of an academic partnership with the Mayor’s Office of the City of Los Angeles, which has been highlighted in a 2020 National Academics of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report, the Brookings City Playbook for Advancing the SDGs, and voluntary local reviews submitted to the UN High Level Political Forum by the City Hub and Network for Gender Equity (CHANGE) and the City of Los Angeles.

Her research sits at the intersection of urban studies, global governance, law and human rights. It examines how emergent actors–local and sub-national governments, city networks, private foundations, and NGOs–participate in global governance and the resultant effects on policy implementation, norms, law and judicial mechanisms.

She is the author of The Hidden Hands of Justice: NGOs, Human Rights, and International Courts (Cambridge University Press, 2018), which is the first comprehensive analysis of NGO engagement at international criminal and human rights courts and uncovers their critical role in building the capacity of courts in times of state disengagement or backlash.

Her work has been published in European Journal of International Law, Human Rights Quarterly, Law & Society Review, Human Rights Review, Journal of Human Rights, Global Governance, International Studies Perspectives and The Washington Post.

Her current research examines how global norms are translated and implemented by cities.

Books

The Hidden Hands of Justice: NGOs, Human Rights, and International Courts. Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Peer-Reviewed Articles

“Foreign Agents or Agents of Justice? Private Foundations, Russian Backlash, and NGO Legal Mobilization at the European Court of Human Rights.” With Lisa Sundstrom. Law & Society Review 57(1) (2023).

“Localizing the International Relations Classroom: Evaluation of Academic Partnerships with City Government.” With Madeline Baer. International Studies Perspectives 24(3) (2022).

“Localizing Rights Compliance: The Case for Cities as ‘Shadow Reporters’ at International Human Rights Treaty Bodies.” With Isaac Cui (’20). Human Rights Quarterly 43 (2021).

“When Global Becomes Municipal: U.S. Cities Localizing Unratified International Human Rights Law.” European Journal of International Law 31(4) (2021).

“After the Norm Cascade: NGO Mission Expansion and the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC).” Global Governance 19(2) (2013): 187-206.

“Judicial Institution Builders: NGOs and International Human Rights Courts.” Journal of Human Rights 11(1) (2012): 126-149.

“Mobilizing the Will to Prosecute: Crimes of Rape at the Yugoslav and Rwandan Tribunals.” Human Rights Review 12(1) (2011): 109-132.

Book Chapters

“Judicial Institution Builders: NGOs and International Human Rights Courts” in Charles Anthony Smith, ed. Globalizing Human Rights: Emerging Issues and Approaches (Routledge, 2013). (Reprint of Journal of Human Rights article).

Public Commentary

“How do International Criminal Court Charges Impact Russia?” Pomona College, March 28, 2023.

“The U.S. hasn’t signed the foremost women’s rights treaty. Activists have gotten local versions passed instead.” The Washington Post, Monkey Cage, March 8, 2020.

“The International Criminal Court was established 20 years ago. Here’s how.” The Washington Post, Monkey Cage (July 17, 2018).