The hidden impacts of the ICC: An innovative assessment using Google data

Abstract

Commentators now regularly declare that the International Criminal court (ICC) – and international criminal law as a whole – is in crisis. It is certainly the case that the ICC faces a number of operational challenges, and that these challenges worry its defenders. However, one unexamined rationalist assumption is that the Court’s inability to deliver consistent outputs will mean waning influence. This article explores an alternative constructivist theory that the ICC produces diffuse social impacts that are not necessarily tied to its operating effectively. This theory is tested statistically using Google Trends data. Specifically, the article examines whether ICC intervention in a country is associated with more internet search for ‘human rights’. Taking this to be a measure of changing discourse in countries, the article finds that some types of ICC involvement are associated with a far higher interest in human rights, and that this interest only increases as ICC involvement extends in time. In short, despite its disappointments, evidence suggests that the ICC still serves a socio-pedagogical function. Though it does not fit well within a rational evaluation framework, this kind of information should be considered in ICC performance reviews.

The Global Resonance of Human Rights: What Google Trends Can Tell Us

“…Notable exceptions are Pelc (2013), who employs Google search data to measure information-seeking about the WTO and global trade relations, and Kalmoe (2017), who demonstrates that Google-driven news-seeking on drone attacks increases in the United States and Pakistan after major strikes on militant leaders. More germane to our topic, researchers have selectively used Google data to make arguments about media framing of human rights crises (Dabbous 2018), or the “hidden impact” of International Criminal Court interventions on human rights salience in states under investigation (Dancy 2021).…”

How International Organizations Change National Media Coverage of Human Rights

“…In terms of web traffic, the Manila Times and SunStar are among the top five outlets, as 36. Dancy 2021. 37.…”