Join us for a talk with Dr. Javier Perez Jara, with discussant Professor Patrick Baert, on Bertrand Russel. In 1966, he promoted the first Russell Tribunal, the goal of which was to judge and condemn the war crimes committed by the United States and its allies in the Vietnam War. The paper under discussion provides a sociological explanation of the performative core of the Russell Tribunal’s power and legitimacy following a speech-act theory, in particular, combining Patrick Baert’s positioning theory with Jeffrey C. Alexander’s dramaturgical approach and Ron Eyerman’s notion of cultural trauma. The paper argues that the social success and survival of a human rights organisation on a global scale mainly depend on a range of rhetorical and dramaturgical devices by which their creators position themselves and their institution, along with their adversaries, within specific social, political and intellectual contexts. The performative dimension of power clarifies how wars are fought and won not only on the battlefield, but also in the hearts and minds of citizens on both the home front and the enemy side. This and similar sociological factors need to be taken into account when explaining (and promoting) the success and transcendence of human rights organisations beyond the state’s power.