Oona Hathaway
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oonahathaway.bsky.social
Oona Hathaway
@oonahathaway.bsky.social

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. .. more

Oona Anne Hathaway is an American legal scholar specialized in international law and U.S. foreign relations law. Hathaway is the Gerard C. and Bernice Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law at Yale Law School, Professor of the Yale University Department of Political Science, Professor at the Jackson School of Global Affairs, and Director of the Yale Law School Center for Global Legal Challenges. She is also a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2014-15, she took leave to serve as Special Counsel to the General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Defense. She is the president-elect of the American Society of International Law. .. more

Political science 42%
Economics 24%
Pinned
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

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....

Reposted by Oona A. Hathaway

"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.

The former JAGs are right. But it's not just the decision to give no quarter that is unlawful. As a whole, these strikes are unlawful, and orders to carry out the strikes are unlawful. Following orders is not a defense to such war crimes.

For more, listen here:
www.ejil.org/podcast.php?...
EJIL: The Podcast! - EJIL
www.ejil.org

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 A. Hathaway

A counterproductive and unlawful U.S. policy:

Several States have now curtailed counter-narcotics intelligence support and/or called out U.S. boat strikes as illegal:

Canada
Colombia
EU
France
Mexico
Netherlands?
UK

We discuss their legal obligations that forbid support for boat strikes.
Obligation of States to Stop Intelligence Support for U.S. Strikes
The only way States can avoid complicity in “arbitrary killings” under IHRL is to refrain from sharing intelligence that enables them.
www.justsecurity.org

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...

Thanks Holger!

Reposted by Oona A. Hathaway

Save the Date and don't miss the upcoming Nuremberg Academy Talk: "War Unbound" by Professor Oona Hathaway @oonahathaway.bsky.social
🗓️ 13 November 2025, 11:00 am
📍Room 619, @nurembergacademy.bsky.social
Further information: www.nurembergacademy.org/public-disco...

Reposted by Oona A. Hathaway

The UK has allegedly stopped sharing intelligence with the US used to fight drug trafficking. The Trump Admin is alienating our allies who want no part in their illegal campaign of government sanctioned killings in the Western Hemisphere.

More of my thoughts: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
UK pauses intelligence-sharing with US on suspected drug vessels in Caribbean
Rare rupture between military allies comes as concerns grow over Trump administration’s lethal sinking of boats
www.theguardian.com

I am looking forward to this talk. If you are in Nuremberg, please join us!
📢 The Nuremberg Academy welcomes Prof. Oona Hathaway @oonahathaway.bsky.social for our next Academy Talk: “War Unbound” on 13 November at 11 pm. Join us as she explores the evolution of laws on war, from Nuremberg to today, & discusses the challenges facing the international legal order.

Reposted by Oona A. Hathaway

📢 The Nuremberg Academy welcomes Prof. Oona Hathaway @oonahathaway.bsky.social for our next Academy Talk: “War Unbound” on 13 November at 11 pm. Join us as she explores the evolution of laws on war, from Nuremberg to today, & discusses the challenges facing the international legal order.

Thanks to the PIL Discussion Group for a great conversation!
For this week’s PIL Discussion Group seminar, we were delighted to have Prof @oonahathaway.bsky.social discuss her project entitled ‘War Unbound.’ We look forward to seeing how the project unfolds. As always, we thank everyone for joining us both in person and online.

Reposted by Oona A. Hathaway

For this week’s PIL Discussion Group seminar, we were delighted to have Prof @oonahathaway.bsky.social discuss her project entitled ‘War Unbound.’ We look forward to seeing how the project unfolds. As always, we thank everyone for joining us both in person and online.

Are you in Oxford on November 6? If so, consider joining me for my talk, "War Unbound"! Details below.
We warmly invite you to our second PIL Discussion Group event of this term, scheduled for next Thursday, 6 November 2025. Prof @oonahathaway.bsky.social will deliver a talk entitled ‘War Unbound’. For more information and to register for the event, see here: www.law.ox.ac.uk/content/even....
PIL Discussion Group: War Unbound | Faculty of
Abstract International humanitarian law, also known as the law of armed conflict, is supposed to
www.law.ox.ac.uk

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 A. Hathaway

Reposted by Oona A. Hathaway

Reposted by Oona A. Hathaway

We warmly invite you to our second PIL Discussion Group event of this term, scheduled for next Thursday, 6 November 2025. Prof @oonahathaway.bsky.social will deliver a talk entitled ‘War Unbound’. For more information and to register for the event, see here: www.law.ox.ac.uk/content/even....
PIL Discussion Group: War Unbound | Faculty of
Abstract International humanitarian law, also known as the law of armed conflict, is supposed to
www.law.ox.ac.uk

Reposted by Oona A. Hathaway

Reposted by Oona A. Hathaway

Reposted by Oona A. Hathaway

Today 11:30: JS Editors @oonahathaway.bsky.social and @adhaque.bsky.social
on "Customary International Law What Role Can it Play in Responding to Contemporary Global Crises?”
#ILW2025

Oona’s analysis:
www.justsecurity.org/author/hatha...

Adil’s analysis:
www.justsecurity.org/author/haque...
Oona A. Hathaway
Meet Oona Hathaway, Executive Editor at Just Security and Professor of International Law at Yale Law School where she directs the Center for Global legal Challenges and serves as the Counselor to the ...
www.justsecurity.org

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 A. Hathaway