Explaining high levels of transnational pressure over Mexico: the case of the disappearances and killings of women in Ciudad Juarez

This article explores why a particular situation of violation of human rights in contemporary Mexico - the systematic disappearances and killings of women in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua - has generated exceptionally high levels of ideational pressure over the country's government by all sorts of international actors. Following the international relations literature on the transnational advocacy of human rights, the article argues that the Ciudad Juarez situation has generated significantly high levels of transnational ideational pressure because it has presented a unique mix of elements - the situation has been advocated by a particularly dense network of advocates, it has been amenable to the collection of sufficient reliable evidence, it has implied extreme bodily harm to vulnerable individuals and groups and it has clearly and soundly resonated with existent international norms.