Declarations: The Human Rights Podcast29 Okt 2025

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 @DeclarationsPod

Share your thoughts using #declarationspodcast

Email us at info@declarationspod.com

Credits:Host: Ed Parker

Producer: Ed Parker and Sarah Awan

Executive Producer: Sarah Awan

Show Notes: Yusan Ghebremeskel

Publisher and Comms Manager: Evie Nicholson

Editor: Max Parnell

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