Transnational Policy Learning of Civil Society in International Human Rights Monitoring

International civil society plays an important role in monitoring human rights. Together with the governance of human trafficking – as a transnational issue – they provide an interesting nexus to study transnational advocacy and policy-learning processes. This thesis provides insights into this nexus through a case study of the European NGO network La Strada International (LSI) and more specifically their advocacy in the monitoring of the 2008 Council of Europe Trafficking Convention. To understand how the network’s advocacy influences policy change, interviews with staff from the NGO network and members of the Council of Europe monitoring body GRETA were conducted. This was supplemented by an analysis of relevant content on the monitoring body and LSI advocacy. This thesis conceptualises an approach that integrates Keck and Sikkink’s transnational advocacy network (TAN) theories (1998) with Sabatier’s Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) (1987). The study found that the advocacy of La Strada International influences the GRETA monitoring mechanism through transnational policy-learning processes. This occurs along the following lines according to the main findings: The advocacy of the network takes place within a policy subsystem that values and incentivises policy learning. The advocacy strategies and policy change ultimately are not directed at the GRETA monitoring mechanism itself but indirectly used as a tool to reach national governments and achieve change on the national or local level. These processes of transnational policy learning within the network are intertwined with policy learning processes on other regional or national scales.