My uncle was murdered in Haiti. Two gang members followed him from the store to his car. Things escalated quickly. First threats, then yelling, and finally gunfire. In a matter of seconds, he was gone.
It is often said that peace and democracy in Haiti are not possible without international intervention. But how can we know? Haiti has never had the opportunity to govern itself without external interference. Since declaring its independence from imperial France in 1804, Haiti has suffered slavocratic subordination, international financial strangulation, foreign military occupation, and externally-sponsored coups and dictatorships. Few countries have ever been a true friend to Haiti. Understandably, then, Haitians do not trust outsiders to act in their best interests. But there is no other solution to Haiti's present problems. The world must act immediately to rescue Haiti from the evil gangs now operating as the shadow state.
Richard Albert
Judges Without Borders
The gorgeous cover of this book matches the high-quality scholarship on the inside. The Cambridge Handbook of Foreign Judges on Domestic Courts is a unique volume that explains the ins and outs of a curious but common practice: foreign judges sitting on domestic courts, something we see in over 50 jurisdictions around the world. Why do countries appoint outsiders? What functions do these foreign judges perform? How are they received by local actors? How well do they do their job? This excellent book answers all of these questions, and many more.
A Conversation with Justice Sonia Sotomayor
Earlier this year, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor spoke at the University of California at Berkeley. Justice Sotomayor covered a lot of ground, including how to interpret the U.S. Constitution, the power of a dissenting opinion, and the future of the Court.
Most Cited Scholars
The five most influential scholars in comparative constitutionalism, pictured above, as measured by total citations:
If you are like me, you are probably wondering “where are the women?” There is a serious gender gap in citations in public law. Fortunately, the gap is closing. Among the top five most cited scholars under the age of 50, two are women – and they are among the very best scholars in the world at any level of seniority in the field of comparative constitutionalism.
Has America grown too divided to govern? Christopher Zurn answers emphatically “yes” in Splitsville USA, a must-read for students and scholars of U.S. constitutional history, law, and politics. Zurn’s provocative remedy for what ails America – a negotiated dissolution of the Union – is sure to spark a visceral response from readers. Some will reject it. Others will endorse it. And still others will initially resist but reluctantly agree. Yet wherever readers stand on Zurn’s controversial proposal to save America from itself, they will find much to commend in this challenging and revelatory analysis of democracy in the United States.
Is the state a subject or a source of law? Historically, constitutional and international law have given different answers to the question, the former regarding the state as a source of domestic law and the latter treating the state as a subject of supranational regulation. In his new book titled Law for Leviathan, New York University law professor Daryl Levinson opens our eyes to a point as yet unseen: constitutional and international law are animated by the same objective of imposing law on the state.
In an important paper, Frederick Schauer challenges the conventional view that textualism must be understood as a form of originalism. He advances a theory of non-originalist textualism and illustrates its uses and implications in relation to actual constitutional cases. Well worth reading, no matter your preferred interpretive methodology.
Designing a Writing-Intensive Seminar
This semester I am co-teaching a writing-intensive graduate seminar on comparative constitutional law and politics with my colleague, Zachary Elkins. The course is designed to give students the tools to produce their own publishable work in the study of constitutions.
*** The course is demanding. It requires students to begin writing right away, and to keep writing for the duration of the 14-week semester. Early in the term, students prepare a 750-word topic description. We spend time in class discussing each paper idea, giving students the benefit of our collective feedback. Students then refine their topics and produce an annotated bibliography that will guide their research. Next, students develop a draft introduction and table of contents, which they present in class for group discussion. The penultimate step is to prepare a full draft of the paper and to make a formal presentation to the entire class. Students then take this feedback and revise their papers for final submission.
*** The topics our students have chosen are innovative, original, and ambitious. Some involve constitutional rights and freedoms, others involve constitutional structures. Students are reading case law, coding constitutions, and delving into philosophy. All papers are comparative. I hope and expect that their papers will be published either as Notes or Articles.
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Here we are, last week, with Monika Nalepa, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. Professor Nalepa visited our seminar to share some research and writing tips with our students, and also to discuss her draft paper “Authoritarian Dependence on Agents of Repression and Regime Survival: A Transitional Justice Perspective.”
Is the U.S. Constitution Broken?
Last week I debated the question “Is the U.S. Constitution Broken?” at the launch of the Austin Union, a debate society at the University of Austin. The University of Austin – not to be confused with the University of Texas at Austin, where I teach – is a new university established to “renew the mission of the university, and serve as a model for institutions of higher education, by safeguarding academic freedom and promoting intellectual pluralism.” I enjoyed my discussion with Morgan Marietta, Dean of the Center for Economics, Politics, & History at the University of Austin. The program was expertly moderated by Ben Crocker, Director of Special Programs at the University of Austin. The full video is below.
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The program also featured a discussion on “The Importance of Civil Discourse, Free Speech and Debate in a Healthy Democracy” between Nadine Strossen, former president of the American Civil Liberties Union, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., candidate for president of the United States.
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