9:47 a.m., May 6, 2009----Peter J. Spiro of Temple University's Beasley School of Law delivered a keynote address to an audience of about 50 University of Delaware students, faculty and other interested individuals as part of the recent two-day conference on the “United States in the Global System,” sponsored by the Department of Political Science and International Relations.

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Spiro specializes in international, immigration and nationality law and his talk, titled “Unintended Stimulus: Bush and International Law,” focused on citizenship law and theory and international law as it affects U.S. law. He also addressed the question of whether “international law equals real law.”

Spiro criticized and commended both George W. Bush and President Barack Obama and their respective administrations on various policies that have impacted the nation's stance on international law, and as part of an international community.

He also examined the difficult question of whether international law takes precedence over the law of the United States, a sensitive issue for many Americans.

“A view still widely held by conservatives and progressives is that international law can be a force for good only in-so-far as it reflects American interests and values,” Spiro said.

Spiro examined many policies and attitudes of the Bush administration relating to international law and politics, and their positive and negative impacts. He also reminded the audience that Bush is not the only one to blame for unpopular policies during his administration, saying, “Remember in 2006, the Military Commissions Act gave Bush everything he wanted.” The act authorized military trials for violations of the law of war for prisoners held as terrorists, largely at Guantanamo.

The fact that the Bush administration eventually released 500 of 700 Guantanamo detainees was evidence the former president came to understand the policies were a “liability,” Spiro said.

Bush also did not stand alone in rejecting the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement to fight climate change, Spiro said during a discussion of Congress and its role in international law.

Spiro concluded his presentation discussing the present and future of U.S. policy and international law. He acknowledged that solutions might not be swift, or simple. “Just like in any legal system, there are battles that will be won and battles that will be lost,” he said.

In addition to the keynote address, the conference featured panels that discussed such topics as “Globalization and Perceptions of Others,” “Global Forces and the Direction of US. Institutions,” “Policymaking and Normative Ideas,” “New Directions in Law” and “Power in a Post-9/11 World.” There was also a roundtable discussion on “Reflections on the United States in the Global System.”

Article by Quentin Coleman
Photo by Kathy Atkinson