The Obama Administration and International Law

John B. Bellinger III, former legal adviser to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and a major instrument in bringing the United States into the international fold during the second Bush administration, is concerned with how the Obama administration has fared in the realm of international law after its first year: Has it kept the promises it made regarding closing Guantanamo and ending detentions? Has it moved closer to joining the International Criminal Court? Bellinger opened the evening talk – attended by a smattering of Berlin’s legal minds and diplomats – by noting that much credit due the second Bush administration has been overlooked: “How many international treaties were pushed through the Senate during the last two years of the Bush administration?” Bellinger asked. “Ninety.”

Compared to the Obama administration’s one treaty, in addition to the multiple examples Bellinger pointed out, a curious distinction arises: While widely perceived as internationalist, the Obama administration has actually held on to much of the international law architecture of the Bush Administration – specifically regarding detentions, War on Al-Qaeda paradigm, Predator strikes in sovereign countries, extraordinary renditions, and military commissions. In effect, Bellinger says, it has done less in real terms than its predecessor vis a vis international law. While acknowledging the thorniness of the issues, Bellinger says there has been “more continuity than change.”

To view the video of Bellinger's talk, click here.