Hope for Human Rights

The American Political Science Association recently posted the video of Kathryn Sikkink‘s plenary address from its 2016 annual meeting.  Titled “Are We Making Progress on Human Rights? Transformations in Knowledge and Activism,” the talk lays out Professor Sikkink’s arguments that the so-called death of human rights has been greatly exaggerated.  Sikkink directly and methodically challenges the pessimistic rhetoric that has infected human rights writing and punditry in recent years.  In fact, she argues, rigorous academic analysis suggests that there is much reason to hope.  This talk provides a preview of Sikkink’s next book, Making Human Rights Work: Evidence for Hope.