International law expert named new ASU Goldwater Visiting Chair

One of the nation’s leading international law scholars, Harvard Law School professor Jack Goldsmith, has been named the Barry Goldwater Visiting Chair of American Institutions at Arizona State University for the 2016-2017 academic year.

Goldsmith will work with the Center for Law and Global Affairs and the Rule of Law & Governance Program at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at ASU. He will headline two events that bring together prominent scholars in international law, rule of law and national security. He will also hold talks for ASU students and the community on topics such as countering terrorism under domestic and international law, and President Obama’s counterterrorism legacy.

“We are excited to have professor Goldsmith — a scholar with deep experience in government — working with us as we continue to expand our international law program,” said Douglas Sylvester, ASU Law dean. “Professor Goldsmith’s partnership with ASU Law comes at a particularly fortuitous time for us with the launch of our Rule of Law & Governance Program. He is acutely aware of the challenges facing rule of law around the world in the face of terrorism.”

The Barry Goldwater Visiting Chair of American Institutions was established at ASU in 1977 to honor Sen. Barry Goldwater’s exceptional service to Arizona and the nation. Holders of the chair are scholars who have distinguished themselves in the fields of political science, history, economics, law and public policy, and who uphold the principles of Americanism, individual freedom and the free enterprise system, which Goldwater espoused throughout his public career.

“It is a deep honor to hold the chair of one of the most important conservatives, and conservative thinkers, in American history,” Goldsmith said. “I look forward to working with ASU Law’s great faculty to foster important new scholarship in international law.” 

Goldsmith is the Henry L. Shattuck Professor at Harvard Law, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is also the co-founder of Lawfareblog.com, which looks at how actions to protect the country intersect with the nation’s law and legal institutions. Goldsmith is the author of the books "Power and Constraint: The Accountable Presidency After 9/11" and "The Terror Presidency: Law and Judgment Inside the Bush Administration."

The first of the two events Goldsmith is organizing with ASU Law is a symposium Oct. 19 in Washington, D.C. Hosted by ASU Law’s Rule of Law & Governance Program in cooperation with the McCain Institute for International Leadership and New America, the symposium will focus on counterterrorism and international rule of law.

The second event, March 17, 2017, is an international law conference in Phoenix, with top scholars from around the country including ASU Law professors Daniel Bodansky, Kenneth Abbott, David Gartner and Aaron Fellmeth.