It is easy to profess a commitment to human rights.  Making those rights a reality can be an arduous and complicated process.  What can sociologists tell us about the process by which governments are forced to respect human rights, if they are forced to do so at all?  Our discussion will be anchored by Lisa Hajjar's (UC Santa Barbara) new book, The War in Court: Inside the Long Fight Against Torture (2022, University of California Press), which tells the story of the long, arduous battle by human rights lawyers to stop the government practice of torture during the War on Terror.  We will discuss how this study and similar recent work in this space can help inform our efforts to establish and enforce basic human rights, and other currents of sociology that inform our struggles with war and conflict.

Our panelists include:

• Lisa Hajjar (University of California, Santa Barbara)
• Christopher NJ Roberts (University of Minnesota)
• Hedi Viterbo (Queen Mary University of London)