Oona Hathaway
Professor at Yale Law School & Professor of Political Science at Yale University; Executive Editor at Just Security; president-elect, American Society of International Law; former Special Counsel at U.S. Department of Defense. Website: oonahathaway.com.
- Glad to speak with Shirin Jaafari for this story on the US sanctions on the International Criminal Court: theworld.org/segments/202...
- Oona Hathaway joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why a golden age of treaties seems to be tarnishing, how the legal basis for entering conflicts is being conflated and reinterpreted, and how aggressive U.S. tactics are upsetting the world order. Listen: play.prx.org/listen?ge=pr...
- Reposted by Oona Hathaway[Not loaded yet]
- "Many presidents have pushed at the limits of their powers to achieve some particular goal. What makes Mr. Trump’s claims to expanded executive authority unprecedented is not just his aggressiveness, but the sheer volume of the ways he is consolidating power."
- Trump now says he'll impose a 10% tariff (rising to 25% in June) on some of our closest allies until the US can buy Greenland. It's long past time for Congress to put an end to this.
- Public hearings are happening now in the International Court of Justice on the merits of the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v. Myanmar). Watch here: webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1q...
- My latest, with @scottjshapiro.bsky.social "A world in which the powerful no longer feel the need to justify themselves is not merely unjust. It is barbaric . . . . That world does not have a legal order at all. It has only force, guided by one man’s whims." www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
- Excited to see my piece in NRC Handelsblad, a leading Dutch newspaper. www.nrc.nl/auteur/oona-...
- Reposted by Oona Hathaway[Not loaded yet]
- The US Supreme Court just granted cert in Cisco v. Doe on (1) whether the Alien Tort Statute allows aiding and abetting claims & (2) whether the TVPA does. The case could strike a major blow to human rights law. For deep background on the law, read this article: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
- Glad to talk to BBC Newshour about President Trump's attacks on the UN Charter system. Take a listen (starting at around 34:00): www.bbc.com/audio/play/w...
- “The claim that international law is fine as far as it goes, but can be put aside when the conditions change, is a claim that was made in the early 1930s by ‘realist’ jurists in Germany ... whose central thesis was ... that state power is all that counts, not law" www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
- In which David Brooks and I agree, on this at least: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/o...
- Glad to speak with Ian Masters about Trump's assault on international law: www.backgroundbriefing.org
- Reposted by Oona Hathaway[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Oona Hathaway[Not loaded yet]
- My latest, in the @nytimes.com: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/06/o...
- Great to talk with CBC News about the legal issues surrounding the U.S. intervention in Venezuela. www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
- Reposted by Oona Hathaway[Not loaded yet]
- Glad to talk with Wolf Blitzer @cnn-news.bsky.social about Trump's illegal intervention in Venezuela.
- My latest with @ichotiner.bsky.social.
- You can read my take on Trump's illegal invasion of Venezuela here: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
- Unfortunately more timely than ever: www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
- Now out! "Crowdsourced War" @nyulawreview.bsky.social We describe a revolution in war fighting that we call “Crowdsourced War.” It's putting civilians at risk around the globe. It is time to adopt new rules to protect civilians from the new risks they face. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
- I made a website that contains (nearly) all of my writing and podcasts in one place. You can search across all the content at once. And you can subscribe to receive a newsletter when I post new work (no more than once a week). Check it out and let me know what you think! oonahathaway.com
- "the combat decisions he has made" Hegseth is setting up Admiral Bradley to take the blame for killing the survivors--which is just the tip of an immense iceberg of illegal acts. U.S. military officials beware: Following orders is not a defense to murder or war crimes.
- There are news reports that Hegseth personally issued orders to “kill everybody” on a boat accused of drug trafficking A group of former JAGs explains that "both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both." www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/u...
- Reposted by Oona Hathaway[Not loaded yet]
- Had so much fun recording this podcast with Philippa Webb, Marko Milanovic & Nicolas Angelet. We discuss the legality of the US strikes on suspected drug boats and the UNRWA advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice. Take a listen! www.ejiltalk.org/ejil-the-pod...
- Reposted by Oona Hathaway[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Oona Hathaway[Not loaded yet]
- I am looking forward to this talk. If you are in Nuremberg, please join us!
- Thanks to the PIL Discussion Group for a great conversation!
- Are you in Oxford on November 6? If so, consider joining me for my talk, "War Unbound"! Details below.
- If you are in London on November 5, consider joining me for this conference on "The U.S. & International Law in a Changing World." Register for free here: www.eventbrite.com/e/the-us-and...
- Reposted by Oona Hathaway[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Oona Hathaway[Not loaded yet]
- If you are in Berlin, please join me for my talk, "War Unbound," on Monday evening at the Freie Universität Berlin! Details here: www.jura.fu-berlin.de/fachbereich/...
- Reposted by Oona Hathaway[Not loaded yet]
- Susan was not only a pioneer; she was a genuinely kind person. While interning for NPR in 1992, I prepared her briefing book and staffed her at the Republican Convention in Houston. I was 19 and had a lot to learn. I feel so grateful for the chance to see her brilliance and humanity in action.
- 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....
- “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!
- 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...
- 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....
- Reposted by Oona Hathaway[Not loaded yet]
- 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? 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....
- Reposted by Oona Hathaway[Not loaded yet]
- Thanks to Sissy Katsoni for inviting me to participate in this symposium, "The Person behind the Academic." voelkerrechtsblog.org/chatting-wit...
- 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....
