ABSTRACT
This contribution discusses two key, interrelated aspects of the post–Cold War global liberal order: multilateralism and the international human rights regime. The dominant notion of human rights is inspired by Western liberal values. Its global reach and its institutionalization reflect the material and immaterial dominance of the West, especially during the first two decades after the Cold War. However, the global marketplace of ideas is changing under the influence of the major power shifts that we are currently observing. What will this mean for human rights? Have we reached the end-times of human rights, or will the international human rights survive, albeit perhaps in a mitigated form?
The chapter briefly discusses three issues that are key to the future of human rights: the role of the state in the global human rights effort, the ambition to “regionalize” human rights, and the need to bring human rights closer to the lives of ordinary people. It also addresses the challenges that the states, organizations, and individuals face, which remain committed to liberal human rights. Their future strategies will involve a complex combination of competition and compromise. The human rights discourse is not a timeless and universal language; it is a product of its time. Liberal powers need to develop a future human rights regime that simultaneously configures authority and organizes diversity. This requires a pragmatic approach, both with respect to the ideational and the practical aspects of human rights.
