International Advocacy for Tibet: The Current State of Geopolitical Influences and Methods of International Action for Tibetan Human and Political [email protected]

Historically, international advocacy for Tibet has been shaped by Cold War and decolonization era policies to frame Tibetans as victimized objects of international charity. This has left a legacy which continues today, in which Tibetans advocating for an end to human rights abuses inside of China interact with a broader international system which has historically left them out of their own advocacy movement. In this paper, I focus on the methods of appeals that the Central Tibetan Administration and Tibetan non-governmental organizations make to foreign governments and supranational bodies like the UN, because these are what have been seen to have the most effect inside of China-occupied Tibet. I interrogate the strategic interests that countries like the U.S. and India have when interacting with the Tibet issue, as well as how China’s domestic legal system and position as an international economic power impact the effectiveness of appeals to international law. To complete this project, I used a combination of interviews with Tibetan advocacy organizations in Dharamsala, India and New Delhi, India and research conducted online.