Trump and International Law: Harold Koh’s New Book

On October 15, Oxford University Press published Professor Harold Koh’s new book, The Trump Administration and International Law.  Here’s how it is described on the OUP website:

        “Will Donald trump international law? Since Trump’s Administration took office, this question has haunted almost every issue area of international         law. One of our leading international lawyers-a former Legal Adviser of the US State Department, Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights,         and Yale Law Dean-argues that President Trump has thus far enjoyed less success than many believe, because he does not own the pervasive         “transnational legal process” that governs these issue areas. This book shows how those opposing Trump’s policies during his administration’s first         two years have successfully triggered that process as part of a collective counter-strategy akin to Muhammad Ali’s “rope-a-dope.” The book surveys         immigration and refugee law, human rights, climate change, denuclearization, trade diplomacy, relations with North Korea, Russia and Ukraine,         America’s “Forever War” against Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, and the ongoing tragedy in Syria. Koh’s tour d’horizon illustrates the many         techniques that players in the transnational legal process have used to blunt Trump’s early initiatives. The high stakes of this struggle, and its         broader implications for the future of global governance-now challenged by the rise of populist authoritarians-make this exhausting counter-strategy         both worthwhile and necessary.”

For the two weeks, the blog OpinioJuris of the International Commission of Jurists has been running a Symposium on the new book.  Check it out for commentary from the left and the right, and a response from Professor Koh.