For the past few weeks in our Perspectives section, authors from across the world have debated issues from court judgements pushing back against political leaders to the rising tensions between democracy and human rights institutions. 

In September, Andrew Hudson discussed strategies for creating effective coalitions in turbulent political climates, while James A. Goldston analyzed how courts across the world are standing up to political leaders to uphold human rights. K. Chad Clay discussed new efforts to measure civil and political rights, and Joel R. Pruce encouraged the human rights community to rethink its habits. Finally, Peter Splinter made a call for new leadership in the UN Human Rights Council.

So far in October, Lisa Sundstrom has asked whether democracy and human rights institutions are becoming irreconcilable, and in this debate Alison Brysk examines citizen solidarity and the decline in democracy. Stephen Hopgood discusses recent events in Myanmar and asks whether human rights are losing ground to populist leaders, and Peter Splinter reveals that upcoming “elections” in the UN Human Rights Council make a mockery of the institution.

Flickr/Fibonacci Blue/CC BY 2.0(Some Rights Reserved). The recent violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and Trump’s reticence to criticize those groups given his electoral base, is one example of the perverse impact that populist forces can have on politicians’ commitment to human rights.

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