Declarations: The Human Rights Podcast
Declarations: The Human Rights Podcast
Recent Episodes
2 episodesJustice in the Balance: Can the Law Save Democracy?
In this episode, we explore the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) — often hailed as the “conscience of Europe” and one of the most successful human rights institutions in the world. But in an era of democratic backsliding, populist politics, and eroding faith in institutions, what does “justice” look like today?Drawing on eight years of fieldwork with advocates, lawyers, and judges at the ECHR, Professor Jessica Greenberg’s Justice in the Balance examines how the Court functions both as a bureaucratic machine and as a moral ideal. Through her ethnographic lens, she reveals the tensions between law’s promise and its practice — between the aspiration of human rights and the limits of the institutions meant to protect them.This conversation probes the contradictions at the heart of the European project: Can legal institutions still serve as engines of democracy and hope, or have they become hollow symbols of a fading order?About the Guest: Jessica Greenberg is a professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Prior to coming to UIUC, Greenberg was an Academy Scholar at the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, and an Assistant Professor in Communication Studies at Northwestern University. She recently earned a Master of Studies in Law at the College of Law, University of Illinois. She is also currently the Co-Editor of the Political and Legal Anthropology Review (PoLAR).Website: https://anthro.illinois.edu/directory/profile/jrgreenbEmail: [email protected] with Us:Subscribe below for more regular and profound discussions. Connecting practitioners, activists, and students together to dissect the compelling intersections related to human rights and social justice. Subscribe on :Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/33zeclUn2wMUIxRjsOApPW Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/declarations-the-human-rights-podcast/id1178474117 Follow us on X: @DeclarationsPod Instagram: @declarationspodcast LinkedIn: Declarations: The Human Rights Podcast Share your thoughts using #declarationspodcast Email us at [email protected] Episode Credits Host: Ed Parker Producer: Ed Parker and Sarah Awan Executive Producer: Sarah Awan Show Notes: Yusan Ghebremeskel Publisher and Communications Manager: Evie Nicholson Editor: Max Parnell
Human Rights and American Foreign Policy with Andrew Preston
Welcome back to Season 9 of Declarations!This season we are looking at the notion of Human Rights and The Polycrisis.In our first episode, Co-host Ed Parker sits down with Andrew Preston, an acclaimed historianof American foreign relations post 1890, to trace the role of human rights in American protest movements and foreign policy debates, asking whether humanitarian ideals have ever truly guided U.S. decision-making. From campus protests against the Vietnam War to campaigns like Save Darfur, American activists have long invoked the language of human rights topress for change at home and abroad. But has this discourse meaningfully shaped U.S. foreign policy—or has it always taken a backseat to strategic interests?Together, they explore key moments when human rights language surged, examine its retreat in recent years, and consider how American power has influenced—and at times undermined—thebroader global human rights regime. Looking ahead, they ask whether we are witnessing a lasting shift in U.S. foreign policy priorities or simply thelatest chapter in a long cycle of competing values and interests.We hope you enjoyed this podcast. If you did, please check out our last season, available on all podcast platforms, or follow us on social media @DeclarationsPodShare your thoughts using #declarationspodcast Email us at [email protected] Credits:Host: Ed Parker Producer: Ed Parker and Sarah AwanExecutive Producer: Sarah AwanShow Notes: Yusan GhebremeskelPublisher and Comms Manager: Evie NicholsonEditor: Max Parnell