Using post-revolutionary Iran as a key example, a new article by SIS Professor Shadi Mokhtari in the Review of International Studies explores how certain critiques of human rights, epitomized by Makau Mutua’s "Savages, Victims, and Saviors" (SVS) framework, can unintentionally fuel a new kind of reactionary politics. When these critiques are combined with a state's efforts to brand itself as a victim of imperialism and the tendency of some leftist movements to offer uncritical support in the name of anti-imperialism, an inverse version of Mutua’s metaphor emerges that Mokhtari calls the ‘Reverse Savages, Victims, Saviours metaphor of human rights’ (Reverse SVS).

In this reversed narrative, states that brand themselves as anti-imperialist are portrayed as the victims, often equating the state with the entire population. Western powers, the broader human rights system, and those advocating for rights are painted as the new "savages"—agents of imperialism. Meanwhile, the resisting state, along with its version of Indigenous culture and its leftist allies, take on the role of the saviors.

These human rights politics eclipse local populations’ agency and lived experiences by:

1. Downplaying both the state’s abuses and the value of human rights;

2. Shifting attention away from the ways these states oppress their own people;

3. Treating non-Western populations as defined solely by their culture, much like old colonial narratives did, but glorifying that culture instead of demonizing it; and

4. Leaning on ideas of moral complexity that blur the clear wrongs that are actually taking place.

In the last section of the article, Mokhtari turns to Iran’s dramatic 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests, spurred by the state killing of Jina Mahsa Amini. Here, she identifies several reasons why the dramatic protests produced a temporary departure from both SVS and Reverse SVS human rights politics and how a variety of diaspora and foreign imperialist actors used the Reverse SVS critique to revert back to SVS politics and ultimately to justify another Middle East war.

Mokhtari argues that just as criticizing SVS politics can sometimes be used to excuse or distract from serious injustices happening locally, criticizing Reverse SVS politics can be used to excuse or hide serious injustices on the global stage. Ultimately, the article calls for a new kind of politics that can acknowledge the many different causes of suffering in non-Western populations and focus more on identifying moral wrongs rather than victims.

Read the full article and watch a video abstract in Mokhtari's own words here.