Rising to the Populist Challenge: A new Playbook for Human Rights Actors

Abstract

This book collects and analyzes a repertoire of responses by human rights organizations to the crackdown against civil society in the populist context. Written by scholars and advocates in challenging political settings from around the world, this book offers ideas and inspiration to their peers in the human rights community who are grappling with and resisting the erosion of democracy and rights.

This collection takes two steps towards clearing the path for this civil society transformation. First, it clarifies the specific challenges to human rights raised by contemporary populist regimes and movements. What is the populist playbook against human rights? Second, it contributes to documenting and learning from a wealth of initiatives by human rights actors. What innovations are human rights actors introducing into their strategies and narratives to counter those of populist regimes? In short, what is the human rights playbook against populism?

From meticulous documentation of abuses in Turkey to more grassroots forms of social networking in Hungary, from peace caravans in India to finding new ways of being useful under 21st century dictatorships in Venezuela, like war correspondents reporting from the trenches, our authors step forward to share their own continuing struggles to help their communities.

Based on evidence from populist governments in India, Venezuela, Hungary, Turkey, Russia, the United States, and Ecuador—as well as crackdowns against civil society in South Africa, Egypt and other countries—this volume provides hope, solidarity, and reinvigoration for the human rights movement.