Democratic backsliding is now a global phenomenon, with Donald Trump's America only the most visible and dramatic example. But @drodrik.bsky.social still sees some bright spots elsewhere. bit.ly/4m0PTI9

Completing @ajil.bsky.social's Reparations study, Part II in Unbound probes 6 cases of reparation demands met or unmet: Haiti's cholera epidemic, African resource exploitation, atrocities against Mau Mau veterans, Native American cultural objects, Canada's Indian Residential Schools, & slavery.1/

I am excited that this special issue of the @ajil.bsky.social —on reparations in international law—is now out! 1/

Ingrid and I issued the following statement in the just-released issue of @ajil.bsky.social. A travesty that it has to be said.

This paper is a product of years of frustration with—and yet, an unrelenting commitment to—the field of international law. I hope it helps to launch a (more) productive conversation about what intl law has historically done and where the field might go from here. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

I finally managed to escape the news feed, and it was glorious.

My review of Daryl Levinson’s provocative book; “Law for Leviathan” is now out in the Michigan Law Review. repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol123/i...

This was a great event, largely because Kinstler, Hassan, and Roth are all so inspiring. Thanks to @mcnallyjackson.bsky.social for hosting.

This ⬇️ is becoming more and more relevant, and not just for a few of us. I mean everyone.

I put much work into this. DOJ is trying to block courts' access to info in #AbregoGarcia and Alien Enemies Act cases by asserting it is a "state secret." I walk through the clear case law on this topic. I provide a Table of senior officials' statements that preclude the state secret privilege.

Meeting friends and heroes at the EUI workshop “Shifting Powers, Shifting Roles: The Present and Future of International Institutions”. Brilliant keynote discussions by @monicahakimi.bsky.social, Tony Anghie, @sarahnou.bsky.social. Also a great setting to discuss de-dollarisation and int’l law!

When a constitutional and a corporate lawyer put their heads together to suggest how NOT to do governance reforms @columbiauniversity.bsky.socia balkin.blogspot.com/2025/05/revi...

If you are teaching international law in the fall, the sixth edition just went to the printers—with extensive updates throughout and entirely new problems on the South China Sea, the Chagos Archipelago, Indigenous persons, Western Sahara, and the IMF.

I first read this to mean LLM _students_ and was all “?!?” But I guess it makes sense for the other kind of LLM.

My piece with @jkatzcogan.bsky.social is out in @ajil.bsky.social. We argue that the international legal system—which the US played an outsized role in establishing & maintaining—is under enormous strain. This was true pre-Trump and is all the more so now. 1/ 🧶 www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Join us in person @eui-eu.bsky.social or online on May 19 for an event, focusing on the changing global order and the role of international institutions in these turbulent times. 3 panels, a keynote and a roundtable will address the pressing ?s of what we do now, when the world we knew crumbles

we are very lucky to have so many great people (@monicahakimi.bsky.social, @justinauriburu.bsky.social @tim-lindgren.bsky.social @kanadbagchi.bsky.social @lawprofpuig.bsky.social & more) taking part in this event, so don's miss the chance, check the program & register here www.eui.eu/events?id=57...

I am looking forward to participating in this workshop -- which @jemtseva.bsky.social has organized at @eui-eu.bsky.social -- on May 19. Online registration is below. www.eui.eu/events?id=57...

I will be speaking with Kenneth Roth, Linda Kinstler, and Lila Hassan at the @mcnallyjackson.bsky.social festival on May 28 about the future of human rights and international law. Join us if you will be in NYC. www.mcnallyjackson.com/event/where-...

DC cabbie not buying what the government is selling. “It’s just logic,” he says.

Sen. Murkowski: “We are all afraid. It’s quite a statement. But we are in a time and a place where I certainly have not been here before. And I’ll tell ya, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real.”

Steve Kerr wore a Harvard basketball shirt after the Warriors’ win tonight: “Yes, this is me supporting Harvard. Way to go. Way to stand up to the bully.”

Strongly endorse this by @paulmusgrave.bsky.social. I would just add that the status quo ante (of US dominance) had real problems and lost support even within the US for reasons that we should take seriously and learn from. musgrave.substack.com/p/an-obituar...

People sometimes ask how it feels to be at Columbia and what I think of the whole fiasco. This pretty much captures it (though of course I might quibble at the margins and there is so much more to say). www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/o...

More of this, please. A model for us all. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

The bottom line is that in this tariff stating contest China did not blink and Trump did. The whole world saw it. Do not try to dress this up as a victory or some tough negotiation tactic. When they looked at what was happening in the bond market the Trump administration caved.

Good morning. A reminder that historically when the US has wanted to punish other countries, it imposed sanctions on them, cutting their people off from global trade, hoping to create enough economic havoc that they rein in their leaders. Trump has imposed economic sanctions on the American people.

Next in our Spotlight series, we highlight Board member Jean Galbraith. She shares her career path, the challenges of writing and publishing while working full time, and the role of international law in the world today. youtu.be/ebVZCSbOjAs?...

Check out our new @ajil.bsky.social series to showcase members of our incredible board—starting with @akinkugbe.bsky.social.

Today’s tariffs are to the global and US economic order what Russia’s 2022 invasions were to the global and US security order: a shock that will fundamentally change what comes next. 1/

Fantastic opportunity.

This looks like a great conference. Imagining the post-DOGE administrative state. www.commongood.org/the-day-afte...

"The detention and attempted deportation of student activists on spurious grounds—and the use of armed, typically masked agents of the state to do so—perfectly captures the real, menacing story of the second Trump administration," writes @alexshephard.bsky.social. newrepublic.com/article/1932...

Read the judge's description of El Salvador prison with this in mind: - USG admitted "many of the TdA members ... do not have criminal records"❗ - Cases of misidentification have emerged❗ - The most senior DOJ officials signed a brief saying these detainees would not suffer "irreparable harm"❗

This segment from @maryannefranks.bsky.social is an incredibly tight argument that captures the breadth of the Trump assault on free speech perfectly and in less than a minute. Spread it far and wide.

So after Paul Weiss makes a deal, they come for Jenner. No sane person thinks it will stop there. Three choices: fight now, fight later from a weaker position, or give up and let them do whatever they want. No other options.

Read this from @bechamilton.bsky.social. Thoughtful. On point. Urgent.

This is really worth reading. Attacking the institutions that have been targeted by the govt & had to make horrible choices is cathartic & understandable. I share many of the critiques that I’ve heard & think they betray longstanding & systemic problems. 1/ davidlat.substack.com/p/brad-karp-...

The news is a nonstop horror show; if you’re looking for management strategies, I highly recommend the daily “Early Edition” @justsecurity.org. www.justsecurity.org/109292/early...

We have had a “dual state” in this country for years—one for foreign affairs, the other for domestic. But that distinction was never sustainable. The foreign is always also domestic, and the domestic, foreign.

It’s worth remembering that Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine was designed fundamentally to change—and destroy—what was by then an already-teetering world order. Whatever else happens, that gambit was wildly successful.

“A global trade war, haphazard DOGE cuts to government jobs and funding, aggressive immigrant deportations, and dysfunction in DC threaten to push what was an exceptionally performing economy into recession.” www.cnbc.com/2025/03/18/s...

2/ This does not instill confidence that the Government has accurately or properly identified individuals under the Alien Enemies Act: Government declaration: "[T]he lack of specific information about each individual actually highlights the risk they pose." Full context:

1/ Quite the admission in a government Declaration submitted late last night in the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) case: "It is true that many of the TdA members removed under the AEA do not have criminal records in the United States." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Today’s excellent advice from @westsiderag.bsky.social

Just to say that the students who manage and work on law reviews are by and large wonderful.

Excellent. (I’m lucky to have these people as my colleagues.) balkin.blogspot.com/2025/03/a-ti...

This is true of American life generally—beyond the government to include, eg, broad swaths of our economic, health, and educational sectors.