http://dx.doi.org/10.59704/f573ba6deebfa043 https://verfassungsblog.de/guatemala-iacthr/ Protecting Democracy Through International Law - Guatemala’s request for an IACtHR Advisory Opinion on Democracy and Political Rights Rothkirch, Philipp eng 2026-03-16 electronic resource text/html ddc:342 Demokratie [Motiv] Guatemala Guatemala Inter-American Court of Human Rights Interamerikanischer Gerichtshof für Menschenrechte | San José (Costa Rica) International Law democracy Demokratie [Motiv] Guatemala Interamerikanischer Gerichtshof für Menschenrechte | San José (Costa Rica) Verfassungsblog Verfassungsblog--2366-7044 CC BY-SA 4.0 While the 2023 presidential election marked a pro-democratic turning point for Guatemala, authoritarian forces continue to pressure the newly elected government to this day. In light of this, Guatemala’s pro-democratic government requested an advisory opinion on the protection of democracy and political rights from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. This week, from 17 to 20 March 2026, the IACtHR will convene the public hearings. I argue that Guatemala’s pro-democratic government turned to international law to generate resources for its domestic struggle against national authoritarian forces.