The evolution of human rights theory—from early natural‐rights doctrines to contemporary articulations of collective and environmental rights—charts not only an extension of the catalogue of rights, but a deep transformation in the foundations of rights discourse: from metaphysical and theistic premises to secular moral constructivism; from state‐centric legalism to multilayered governance; and from an exclusively … Continue reading How can the evolution of human rights theories be critically evaluated, from their origins in natural rights to the contemporary articulations of collective and environmental rights, and what does this trajectory reveal about the changing philosophical, legal, and political foundations of rights discourse?