Oona Hathaway

War Unbound - American Academy in Berlin Axel Springer Lecture War Unbound International humanitarian law, also known as the law of armed conflict, is supposed to spare civilians from the worst calamit

If you are in Berlin, consider joining me at the American Academy in Berlin for my fellows talk, "War Unbound," on October 23 at 7:30 pm. (Those not in Berlin can watch the livestream.)

Sign up here:
www.americanacademy.de/event/war-un...

Glad to talk with Claudia Grisales for this @npr.org story on the Venezuelan boat strike and Congress's failure to play any meaningful role.

www.npr.org/2025/09/14/n....

In recent days, the EU announced that it is considering creative new ways to use Russia's frozen central bank assets to support Ukraine. Russia is threatening retaliation.

For a deep dive into the legal issues involved, take a look at our recent article:

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Anti-satellite weapons are proliferating and now include the prospect of a nuclear-armed satellite capable of wiping out our entire communications infrastructure.

We tackle the many hard legal issues this new reality raises @nyulawreview.bsky.social.

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Analysis: Trump claims he can do anything he wants with the military. Here’s what the law says | CNN Politics Having rebranded the Department of Defense as the Department of War, the president is going on offense with the US military.

“The decision to blow up the boat and kill everyone onboard when interdiction and detention was a clearly available option is manifestly illegal and immoral" -- sad have to make such an obvious point, but here we are.

Read the whole piece: www.cnn.com/2025/09/10/p...

It was an honor to speak at the opening of the @hertieschool.bsky.social academic year yesterday in Berlin. I so enjoyed the chance to welcome the students and the conversation with Violeta Moreno-Lax and Pierre Thielbörger!

Episode 33: Oona Hathaway

This was a great conversation about the value and future of international law.

Take a listen.

open.spotify.com/episode/3j4y...

President Trump's executive order purporting to rename the Department of Defense is just one more piece of evidence that he's prepared to destroy the postwar legal order.

Here's why that matters:

nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...

Recognition Rules: The Case for a New International Law of Government Recognition - NYU Law Review The last several years have been marked by contentious disputes about which governments represent the states of Venezuela, Libya, Yemen, Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Niger. Such disputes are far from idl...

It's out!

"Recognition Rules: The Case for a New International Law of Government Recognition"

Published in @nyulawreview.bsky.social, with coauthors Justin Cole and Alaa Hachem.

You can download it for free here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Is the Prohibition on the Use of Force Collapsing? If the postwar legal order is dissolving, the world must not simply mourn the loss.

"If prohibition on use of force is falling apart, we must not simply mourn the loss. We must consider what we can do to protect against most catastrophic effects of this shift & seize opportunity to build a new, more resilient, more equitable int legal order."

carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

Might unmakes right with Professor Oona Hathaway | The Ballpark podcast | USAPP In an article in the July/August edition of Foreign Affairs magazine, “Might Unmakes Right: The Catastrophic Collapse of Norms Against the Use of Force”, Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro look at the hi...

New Podcast alert:

Might unmakes right with Professor Oona Hathaway | The Ballpark podcast

blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/20...

Is the Prohibition on the Use of Force Collapsing? If the postwar legal order is dissolving, the world must not simply mourn the loss.

Is the Prohibition on the Use of Force Collapsing?

My latest @carnegieendowment.org, with Stewart Patrick:

carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

Bolton is not the most sympathetic figure, but the investigation of him is a product of a system of mass over-classification that creates opportunities for selective prosecution and undermines U.S. national security.

I explain this and more in "Secrecy's End":

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

On Lawfare Daily, Mykhailo Soldatenko sat down with @oonahathaway.bsky.social to discuss how the current world events are harming the norm prohibiting the use of force in international relations, why that's troubling, and what to do about it. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lawf...

It's complicated. Depends on whether the treaty is "self executing" or "non-self executing." Both treaties you mention are non-self-executing. But there are U.S. laws prohibiting refoulement (though the USG will accept "assurances").

For more, see: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Chatting with Oona Hathaway

Thanks to Sissy Katsoni for inviting me to participate in this symposium, "The Person behind the Academic."

voelkerrechtsblog.org/chatting-wit...

Thank you!

The International Court of Justice has issued a blockbuster advisory opinion on climate change (journal.un.org/en/the-hague...).

How can this opinion be enforced? This article offers some answers:

"The World Court's Enforcement Dilemma--And How to Solve It"

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

War is changing, and the law hasn't yet caught up.

Listen to my conversation with @katharinefortin.bsky.social @weigand.bsky.social and @peasantpedant.bsky.social about this and more:

Brave and important warning by a group of Israeli scholars regarding "the plan to concentrate the population of Gaza in a so-called 'humanitarian city'":

"If implemented, the plan would constitute a series of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and . . . could amount to the crime of genocide."

Background Briefing

NOW at backgroundbriefing.org | @farhip.bsky.social - Another Big Media Company Caves to Trump's Extortion | Patrick Sullivan - Four of the Worst Horrors in the Awful Republican Megabill | @oonahathaway.bsky.social - As Trump Uses War and the Threat of War, He Ignores the UN and the US Congress

Grateful for the opportunity to write with @oonahathaway.bsky.social & @azmatzahra.bsky.social + work with @yalelawjournal.bsky.social on "The Dangerous Rise of 'Dual-Use' Objects in War": www.yalelawjournal.org/article/the-.... More on data & methods here: dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtm...

We also have some great dynamic data visualizations (with links to the full dataset on Dataverse)!

Check them out here:

dualuse.law.yale.edu

It's out!

The Dangerous Rise of "Dual-Use" Objects in War

Coauthored with @mararevkin.bsky.social and @azmatzahra.bsky.social.

We show that the targeting of dual-use objects over the last several decades has placed civilians at great risk.

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

Frustrated by the UN Security Council's failure to act? Unfortunately formal amendments to the UN Charter can be vetoed by the same states that are vetoing effective responses to global crises. But here are some ideas for reforming the UN that can't be vetoed:

download.ssrn.com/2025/1/16/48...

Congress Won’t Act on the Iran Strikes. That Doesn’t Make Them Legal. Regardless of how lawmakers react, experts say the president’s actions were unlawful.

Glad to talk to @gracesegers.bsky.social for this @newrepublic.com article on Congress's failure to prevent presidents from using force without seeking authorization--and why that doesn't make the Iran strikes legal.

newrepublic.com/article/1973...

Are we witnessing the death of international law? The long read: A growing number of scholars and lawyers are losing faith in the current system. Others say the law is not to blame, but the states that are supposed to uphold it

Glad to talk with Linda Kinstler for this @theguardian.com long read.

The situation may not be quite as dire as the title suggests, but the challenges are very very real. It's time for creative thinking about what comes next.

www.theguardian.com/law/2025/jun...

Opinion | The Four Ugliest Points About the Big Beautiful Bill

Great piece by @jacobhacker.bsky.social in @nytimes.com.

"The bill is awful for most Americans in many ways. Here are four of the worst."

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/o...

Might Unmakes Right The catastrophic collapse of norms against the use of force.

Gift link: nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...

Here, @scottjshapiro.bsky.social and I consider the collapse of the prohibition on the use of force and the likely consequences: a global arms race, wars of conquest, shrinking trade, and the end of global cooperation. We chart another potential path, but it would require courage and quick action.