Article Abstract:
Can human rights organizations (HROs) shame governments without fueling racism against diasporas or appearing racist? To what extent can shamed governments recover public support lost to shaming by accusing their critics of racism? Employing two U.S.‐based survey experiments involving 6,739 respondents and 11 prominent HRO interviews, we offer three novel findings. First, shaming decreased support for shamed countries (Israel and China) but did not fuel racism (antisemitism and anti‐Asianism). If shamers face a racial dilemma, it is less about how to shame without fueling racism and more about how to shame without appearing racist. Our second finding points toward a solution: when shaming included an anti‐racist cue denouncing racism, respondents perceived it as less racist. Finally, shamed governments can employ racial countershaming to recover some, but not all, of the public support lost to shaming. We contribute to the international relations shaming literature and offer recommendations about racially responsible shaming.