Stephanie HouseChapman University’s first Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar, Dr. Harold Koh of Yale University, will visit campus on Thursday, October 24 at 6 p.m. in the Bush Conference Center, Beckman Hall 404.
Dr. Koh will present a lecture, “The Trump Administration and International Law,” based on his recently released book of the same title. The talk will address the current impeachment inquiry and the Trump administration’s adversarial relationship with transnational rules of law and the institutions/alliances of the post-World War II world, placing it all in context with the rise of anti-globalist nativism in autocratic regimes worldwide.
Chapman’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter is honored to present this distinguished and news-making legal scholar, who’ll be spending a few days next week visiting the Chapman campus and meeting with students and faculty, as well as offering the public lecture. Join the Chapman community for what promises to be a very fascinating, thought-provoking and timely lecture and book signing.
“Harold Koh is one of the world’s most brilliant legal minds and one of the Trump administration’s most determined legal adversaries. In his important new book, he offers a compelling new strategy for how to defend democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in the Trump era. At a time when authoritarians around the world are on the rise, I hope this book will inspire a new generation to follow Professor Koh’s example and fight to uphold international law.” —Madeleine K. Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State
Phi Betta Kappa is America’s oldest and most prestigious academic honorary society, founded in 1776. Chapman University’s Phi Beta Kappa, Psi Chapter of California was established in 2019, and inducted its charter cohort of student members this past spring. The Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Program is integral to the mission of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, offering both the public and the campus community the opportunity to spend time with some of America’s most distinguished scholars. Chapman’s Phi Beta Kappa looks forward to bringing many more Visiting Scholars here in coming years to contribute to the intellectual life of our university and community.
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Lecture: Harold Koh, J.D. – “The Trump Administration and International Law”
Thursday, Oct. 24, 6 pm – Bush Conference Center, Beckman Hall 404 – Free Admission – Open to the Public
Reserve free tickets at the ticketing website or call 714-997-6812 – Note: if you show up without a ticket you won’t be turned away; reservations are to help us get an advance headcount for set-up.
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Breakfast with Harold Koh
Friday, Oct. 25, 8 am to 10 am – Argyros Forum 209 A-C—Free Admission
Join the members of Phi Beta Kappa for an informal breakfast with Dr. Koh, followed by a discussion and open-forum Q&A on a wide range of topics, including the impeachment inquiry, climate change and more.
FREE and open to the Chapman community (students, faculty, leadership and staff) – RSVP for the breakfast by emailing krotunda@chapman.edu.
More About the 2019 Visiting Scholar
Harold Hongju Koh, J.D. is Sterling Professor of International Law, former Dean (2004-09), and co-founder of the Rule of Law Clinic at Yale Law School, where he has taught since 1985. He served as Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State from 2009-13; Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor from 1998-2001; and Attorney-Adviser, Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice, from 1983-85. He has testified regularly before Congress and has argued at the U.S. Supreme Court, the International Court of Justice and many other domestic and international courts. He has received 17 honorary degrees, more than 30 human rights awards, the Wolfgang Friedmann Prize from Columbia Law School, and the Louis B. Sohn Award from the American Bar Association’s International Law Section for his lifetime achievements in international law.
More About the Lecture and Book: The Trump Administration and International Law
Will Donald trump international law? Since Trump’s Administration took office, this question has haunted almost every issue area of international law. Harold Koh, J.D. – a leading international lawyer, a former Legal Adviser for the U.S. 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.
Dr. Koh 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 – are made evident in Koh’s fascinating study. Koh will also discuss the current impeachment inquiry related to Trump’s alleged attempts to solicit foreign electoral interference.
