Abstract

The collapse of funding for human rights organizations around the world in early 2025 was a tragedy decades in the making. When the human rights movement began taking off in the early 1990s, it secured support and modest funding from overseas development agencies. That funding increased over the years as a result of the "rights-based approach" in development work. Fast forward to 2025, and the Trump administration in the US decides to dramatically slash overseas aid. European donors have followed suit, reorienting their aid dollars towards defense. The author traces this arc through the history of his own research, qualitative and quantitative, around the world.