ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the state of physical integrity rights across the world using three standards-based measures – the political terror scales (PTS), the David Cingranelli and David L. Richards' Human Rights Project Data (CIRI) and the Ill-Treatment and Torture Project Data (ITT). It reviews the data sources and measurement approaches used for coding the three standards-based measures of physical integrity rights violations – PTS, CIRI, and ITT. The chapter provides a descriptive overview of some of the main trends and patterns of the respective measures. It also provides a visual account and evaluation of the Domestic Democratic Peace, the finding that political democracy is negatively related to the degree to which physical integrity rights are violated. It is important to note that the coding of the PTS is explicit in regard to the measurement of physical integrity rights and does not attempt to capture or measure general political repression.
