Activists as allies of international courts: Assessing the impact of legal mobilization at international courts

International human rights courts (IHRCs) are increasingly assuming a prominent role in politics. Implementation of rulings, however, is a persistent challenge for these courts. This chapter draws on recent scholarship on activism at IHRCs to argue that just as activists need IHRCs to address their grievances, IHRCs need activists as allies to bring new rights claims and campaign for implementation of their rulings at the domestic level. Activists provide essential information to IHRCs to help supervise the execution process, organize campaigns to set policy reform, and hold perpetrators of human rights violations accountable. The domestic coalitions that activists build often help improve human rights protection beyond just compliance with IHRC rulings to instigate social and political change. At the same time, the central role of activists raises questions regarding power and inequality within human rights systems. The article concludes by pointing out new directions for future research to advance our understanding of some of these dynamics.