Imagine this scenario….
Imagine waking up one day to find that certain topics can no longer be discussed openly. Schools avoid difficult conversations. Journalists tread more carefully. Your news feed shows fewer critical voices. Public spaces feel less safe for protest or dissent.
Nothing dramatic happened overnight! There are no obvious turning points, just a gradual shift. Yet over time, the space for dialogue, disagreement, and public participation has narrowed. You may have heard the term authoritarian practices in the news, in history lessons, or in conversations. But what does it really mean? What is considered an authoritarian practice, and what falls outside of it? What do they actually look like in everyday life for ordinary people like you and me? How can we spot and resist these practices that seriously undermine human rights?
Would you notice? And more importantly, if you did, would you know how to respond?
For many people around the world, this scenario is not hypothetical. This is a lived reality, experienced by growing numbers of people around the globe. Authoritarian practices that violate human rights rarely arrive at once. More often, they emerge gradually, introduced through policies, narratives, and practices that might even seem reasonable in isolation. Measures limiting the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, or access to information are often justified in the language of security, stability, or national interest. These justifications can make restrictions feel necessary, at times even protective.
Over time, repeated exposure to these narratives can normalize limitations on rights. This gradual normalization is what makes such developments difficult to detect, and even harder to challenge. This makes them easy to overlook. When change is gradual, it rarely triggers immediate resistance. Instead, it reshapes expectations; what people believe is acceptable, possible, or safe. This scenario reflects a broader global reality. Across the world, civic space is shrinking, and the rule of law is being weakened. Governments and other powerful actors are employing practices that limit what people can say, share, or challenge, while they undermine the institutions intended to keep a check on power.
At a time like this, strengthening our knowledge and understanding of human rights is not optional. It is essential. Without that understanding, it becomes much harder to spot the signs showing the expansion of authoritarian practices, and recognize when human rights are being unduly restricted to respond effectively when they are. This erosion of our rights is often subtle and systemic. It does not always look like repression in its most obvious form. Instead, it works through discouragement, fear, and the quiet reshaping of what is considered “normal”. When people lose the ability to question, organize, or speak freely, the effects reach far beyond individuals. Entire societies are affected as powerful actors intend to unduly build, exercise, and entrench power for the benefit of a narrow group.
But we can resist! The first step in resisting is learning; this is why human rights education becomes a powerful tool of resistance.
Making sense of authoritarian practices through education
Understanding these developments is not always straightforward. Authoritarian practices are rarely presented as such. Instead, they are embedded in complex political, economic, social, and cultural dynamics. They are not only about laws or policies; they are also about narratives, what people fear, what they believe, and what they accept as “normal”. This is not about which political affiliation or government system is best. It is about understanding how fear and division are used politically, how narratives are manipulated to justify authoritarian practices, and how we can start to question the systems and stories that allow injustice to grow.1 Without the resources and tools to critically analyze these narratives, it becomes difficult to understand how rights are being restricted and eroded for the sake of concentrating power, or how to respond. This is where awareness becomes crucial.
Recognizing patterns, questioning assumptions, and understanding human rights and the protections they give to keep power in check are key steps in responding effectively. Learning to ask questions about who benefits, what is being framed as a threat, and whose voices are being excluded is an essential part of this process. Critical awareness, therefore, is not automatic; it must be learned. This is where education in human rights plays a crucial role. Education can enable us to translate complex global issues into accessible and practical knowledge to act.
Tools and Resources to Understand and Resist
Amnesty International’s Rights Revealed: Human Rights and the Escalation of Authoritarian Practices Around the World is designed with this purpose in mind. This two-part educational resource is aimed at anyone seeking to understand how fear, division, and narratives are used to silence, control, and erode human rights. It’s not about political affiliations or governance systems. It focuses on the tactics themselves and how we can recognize and challenge them.
The educational resources include:
Part 1: Unpacking Authoritarian Narratives of Fear, Repression, and Control
Complementary resource: U.S.-specific Case Cards on Unpacking Authoritarian Narratives Rights of Fear, Repression and Control U.S.-specific Case Cards on Unpacking Authoritarian Narratives Rights of Fear, Repression and Control – Amnesty International
Part 2: Resisting Authoritarian Practices in Defence of Human Rights
It is available in English, Arabic, French, and Spanish.
They aim to support learners, educators, and communities in making sense of these issues. This makes them relevant not only in classrooms, but also in community discussions, public spaces, or personal reflections.
In a world where rights can be gradually restricted to further entrench power, being informed is a form of resistance. Education plays a crucial role in this. It equips individuals with the knowledge and confidence to question, to engage, and to challenge injustice in their everyday experiences.
Act! Take the Next Step
Understanding is the first step, but it should not be the last. Rights are not sustained by laws and institutions alone. They depend on individuals who are aware, engaged, and willing to act.
You don’t need to be an expert to engage with these issues.
Start by exploring Amnesty’s educational resources. Use them in your classroom, your work, or your community. Share them, discuss them, and question them. Reflect on how these issues appear in your own context. Ask questions. Share what you learn. The more informed and engaged we are, the stronger those rights become. You can:
- Use them in teaching, workshops, or conversations
- Reflect on how these issues appear in your own context
- Engage in conversations about rights and responsibilities
- You can explore the interactive quiz on Authoritarian Practices on Kahoot Quiz here
Because when human rights are either quietly or openly undermined and eroded to concentrate power in a few hands, understanding and action matter more than ever.
Footnote
- Amnesty International, Rights revealed: Human rights and the escalation of authoritarian practices around the world: Part 1 – Unpacking authoritarian narratives of fear, repression and control (2025), p. 1, https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/pol32/0336/2025/en/
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