Between Principle and Practice examines the human rights diplomacy of three prosperous industrial democracies with international reputations for protesting human rights abuses - Canada, the Netherlands, and Norway. David Gillies reveals that even these countries were seldom prepared to sacrifice short-run economic or political interests in order to protest gross and systematic human rights abuses beyond their borders.

Based on case studies of five Third World countries (Sri Lanka, the Philippines, China, Indonesia, and Suriname), Gillies explores the extent to which principles were followed in practice and shows that consistent, coordinated, and principled action is elusive even for countries that have a reputation for internationalism.

He highlights the growing rift between the North Atlantic democracies and emerging Asian economic powers, the effectiveness of using aid sanctions to defend human rights, and the vicissitudes of human rights programming in emerging democracies.

On a theoretical level, Gillies examines the explanatory power of political realism and the scope available for ethical conduct in a world of states. Linking policy assertiveness with perceived costs to other national interests, he constructs a framework for analysing policy actions and applies it to his various case studies. He concludes that when it comes to human rights, the gap between principle and practice is still far too wide.