About the Seminar
Populism has been rising in democracies for over a decade now. One feature of this trend is the portrayal (and dismissal) of ‘human rights’ as no more than illegitimate and sometimes foreign overly legalistic values championed by out-of-touch elites in favour of undeserving minorities. How did we get to a position where universal rights for all are so easily (and effectively) minimised and de-legitimised in this way? This seminar will unpack this trend and, in looking forwards, consider how the human rights movement might navigate such forces and factors into the future.
Professor Jolyon Ford
Jolyon Ford is a Professor of Law at the Australian National University (ANU) and Editor-in-Chief of the Australian Year Book of International Law. Author of Human Rights and Populism (2024), he co-leads a 2022-2027 Australian Research Council-funded project ‘Reconceiving Engagement with International Law and Institutions in an Era of Populism’; recent work from the project appears in the 2025 editions respectively of the Virginia Journal of International Law, Asian Journal of International Law, Melbourne International Law Journal, Cambridge International Law Journal, and Australian Journal of International Affairs. Before re-joining academia in 2015 he had a varied career in an international organisation, an NGO, the private sector, and leading London think-tank Chatham House. He holds degrees from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa), Cambridge, and the ANU, from where his PhD was published as Regulating Business for Peace (CUP 2015). He was a Fulbright Fellow in 2021-2022 (University of California, Berkeley).
Programme
- 13:00-13:20 Presentation by Jolyon Ford
- 13:20-13:30 Comments from the discussant
- 113:30-14:15 Open discussion and Q&A
Practical Information
This seminar will be held in English. The draft paper will be shared with those who have registered prior to the event. We kindly ask that participants register in advance. The event is held on the 7th floor of Domus Juridica. If you do not have an access card, please reach out to dila.yesil@nchr.uio.no when outside.