Change

By Max Sorenson In an increasingly interconnected world, the challenges to human rights are rarely confined to single causes or isolated incidents. From systemic racism and mass displacement to entrenched economic inequality, these issues are shaped by complex networks of social, political, and institutional forces. Systems thinking offers a critical framework for understanding and addressing such challenges, emphasizing the importance of analyzing structures, patterns, and relationships rather than focusing solely on individual actions. By revealing how persistent injustices are generated and reinforced by broader systemic dynamics, systems thinking provides essential tools for designing more effective, equitable, and sustainable responses to human rights violations. In the context of human rights and their abuses, the systems thinking framework is a powerful lens for uncovering the underlying structures and relationships that give rise to injustice. Rather than focusing solely on isolated incidents or individual actors, systems thinking emphasizes the importance of understanding how events are embedded within broader, interconnected systems. This approach recognizes that every occurrence, whether a policy decision, social movement, or human rights violation, is the result of systemic interactions shaped by patterns, structures, and feedback mechanisms. Central to this framework are several guiding principles including: (1) interconnectedness of systems; (2) an understanding that all events, including objects, structures, and social happenings, are the product of systems; (3) the outcomes of systems cannot occur without work; (4) energy that enables systems to function originates from sources external to the system; (5) meaningful change happens through feedback loops to maintain a dynamic […]