The Programme undertakes systematic empirical studies of the preconditions for human rights observance, and of the role of human rights notions in democratic development processes within countries and across cultures and political systems, primarily but not exclusively in the FSU. The research activities seek to investigate, in concrete historical contexts, the relationships between types of post-communist regimes and respect for human rights, and the record of human rights observance associated with different development strategies. The degree to which human rights are respected is seen as flowing from variations in historical, political, cultural and economic conditions which may in turn be contingent upon the location of each respective country. The purpose of this research is to test hypothesis whether correlations may be found between patterns of human rights violations and intra-state conflict emergence.