Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Gregory Shaffer

@gregorycshaffer.bsky.social

190 followers 150 following 14 posts

Past President of the American Society of International Law. Author of Emerging Powers and the World Trading System (CUP), and The Rule of Law under Pressure: A Transnational Challenge (CUP)

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Gregory Shaffer @gregorycshaffer.bsky.social · Jan 31

My first post on Bluesky. Our book The Rule of Law under Pressure: A Transnational Challenge is out, open access & in paperback with Cambridge: cambridge.org/core/books/r... @cambridgeup.bsky.social @tomginsburg.bsky.social @kimlanelaw.bsky.social @rdanielkelemen.bsky.social An important time!

The Rule of Law under Pressure

Cambridge Core - Public International Law - The Rule of Law under Pressure

cambridge.org

3 10 22

Gregory Shaffer @gregorycshaffer.bsky.social · Aug 13

A powerful address of @michelebgoodwin.bsky.social‬ It is important for all law students and those in the academy, and indeed for everyone, given at the graduate students luncheon at this year's meeting of LSA in Chicago @lawandsociety.bsky.social‬. Pass it on: www.lawandsociety.org/2025/08/06/l...

LSA 2025 Graduate Student & Early Career Workshop: Keynote Address with Michele Goodwin - Law and Society Association

Georgetown Law Professor Michele Goodwin gave a keynote address at the LSA2025 Graduate Student Early Career Workshop in Chicago.

www.lawandsociety.org

Gregory Shaffer @gregorycshaffer.bsky.social · Aug 13

a very powerful address

Law and Society Association @lawandsociety.bsky.social · Aug 13

An excerpt of @georgetownlaw.bsky.social Professor @michelebgoodwin.bsky.social’s 2025 LSA Presidential Address is now available online!

Watch an excerpt of “To be a Citizen: What it Means to be a Person” here: bit.ly/lsa25presaddress

Reposted by Gregory Shaffer

Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · Jul 22

Gaza Hospitals Report 15 Starvation Deaths in 24 Hours, Hunger-related Deaths Up to 101

www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

Gaza hospitals report 15 starvation deaths in 24 hours, hunger-related deaths up to 101

***

www.haaretz.com

2 13 13

Reposted by Gregory Shaffer

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · Jul 21

Nothing sinister about this

Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · Jul 21

President Trump, using AI images of President Obama and various Obama administration officials, targets them for arrest and prosecution, and for some reason focuses on Samantha Power.

A graphic posted by Donald J. Trump on Truth Social shows a grid of edited mugshots featuring eight former Obama administration officials wearing orange prison-style outfits. The individuals are (top row, left to right): Samantha Power, Susan Rice, Valerie Jarrett; (middle row): James Clapper, a central image reading “The Shady Bunch,” and James Comey; (bottom row): John Brennan, Barack Hussein Obama, and Ben “Hamas” Rhodes. Each person holds a nameplate with their name and the handle “@sirtemplemount.” The image mimics the style of “The Brady Bunch” intro, and is captioned by Trump: “HOW DID SAMANTHA POWER MAKE ALL OF THAT MONEY???” The post timestamp is July 20, 2025, at 4:56 PM

12 17 92

Reposted by Gregory Shaffer

NPR @npr.org · Jul 20

Dozens of Palestinians were killed across Gaza on Sunday as they tried to get food aid, according to local health authorities, one of the deadliest days in recent months for those seeking assistance.

By Joe Hernandez, @danielestrin.bsky.social and Anas Baba

Nearly 100 people killed seeking aid in Gaza on Sunday, Palestinian officials say

Dozens of Palestinians were killed across Gaza on Sunday as they tried to get food aid, according to local health authorities, one of the deadliest days in recent months for those seeking assistance.

n.pr

150 650 990

Reposted by Gregory Shaffer

Kara Swisher @karaswisher.bsky.social · Jul 18

Remember: The internet is written in indelible ink.

44 460 1.6K

Reposted by Gregory Shaffer

Joel S. @joelhs.bsky.social · Jul 19

This seems like a notable sign of how the energy on the young US right is in a very different place when it comes to Israel-Palestine than older Republicans are: www.timesofisrael.com/in-sign-of-s...

In sign of shift, far-right US network airs segment on unchecked settler violence

Arab reports say settlers killed 117 heads of livestock, stole 400 from Bedouin community in West Bank; IDF disperses Palestinians protesting illegal outpost

www.timesofisrael.com

1 5 14

Reposted by Gregory Shaffer

Fionnuala NÍ Aoláin KC (Hons) @niaolainf.bsky.social · Jul 19

I don’t know of a single democracy where the enforcers are masked and unidentified in the course of their regular law enforcement work and the lawyers who defend them in court are also unidentified.

reason.com/2025/07/17/a...

reason.com

26 180 520

Reposted by Gregory Shaffer

Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · Jul 13

Also, again, they're wildly illegal under both the domestic laws supposedly justifying them, as well as a host of international treaty obligations that are also part of US code.

bsky.app/profile/mcop...

Justin Wolfers @justinwolfers.bsky.social · Jul 13

The sloppiness of the tariff letters is a measure of the White House's lack of interest in economics and disrespect to our trading partners. It's literally impossible to read these letters and know what the tariff rate is.

20 61

Gregory Shaffer @gregorycshaffer.bsky.social · Mar 11

Do Check it out. It is in paperback at a reasonable price and available online Open Access on the CUP website.

Cambridge University Press - Law @cambup-law.cambridge.org · Mar 10

"Offers valuable new conceptual and empirical analysis of the rule of law and the understudied relationship between rule-of-law dynamics at the national and transnational levels."

The Rule of Law under Pressure eds. @gregorycshaffer.bsky.social & Wayne Sandholtz

#OpenAccess

cup.org/43DzhAL

The Rule of Law under Pressure

Cambridge Core - Socio-Legal Studies - The Rule of Law under Pressure

cup.org

Reposted by Gregory Shaffer

Barb McQuade @barbmcquade.bsky.social · Mar 9

Trump’s retaliation against law firms is having its predictable chilling effect. Punishing law firms for representing clients the president dislikes infringes on the 6th Amendment right to counsel of one’s choice and the 1st Amendment right to free association.

Fear of Trump Has Elite Law Firms in Retreat

Many big corporate law firms are declining to help with public criticism and legal opposition to the second Trump administration, in the wake of executive orders punishing law firms with Democratic…

buff.ly

200 860 2.6K

Reposted by Gregory Shaffer

@michelebgoodwin @michelebgoodwin.bsky.social · Mar 9

The Chief Justice and destruction of voting rights.
www.vox.com/21211880/sup...

Chief Justice Roberts’s lifelong crusade against voting rights, explained

He has fought to undermine voting rights his entire career.

www.vox.com

7 8

Reposted by Gregory Shaffer

Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · Mar 10

Today in life under competitive authoritarianism

"It has been this way for a long time."

Elizabeth Sacha Baroness Cohen @alixabeth.bsky.social · Mar 10

This is a very important story. It is also important to understand that this is how ICE operates. They disappear people. Family members and lawyers often cannot get information from ICE about where inmates are located and they cannot contact them. It has been this way for a long time.

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · Mar 9

NEWS: Last night, the Department of Homeland Security detained a Palestinian who helped lead the Columbia encampment.

Agents told him his visa was revoked. He said he had a green card. They were confused—then said that was revoked too.

His attorney demanded a warrant. Agents hung up instead.

1 8 43

Reposted by Gregory Shaffer

Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · Feb 28

👇🎯💯 Yes, this is the only way 🇪🇺 can finance these things, or challenge the dollar. Anyone who tells you otherwise is fantasizing about 🇩🇪/🇪🇺 tolerance for national-level debt or pretending that 🇩🇪/🇪🇺 can achieve these goals without major economic policy change.

bsky.app/profile/mcop...

Kate McNamara @katemcnamara.bsky.social · Feb 28

Well, as America implodes from within, it’d be a *great* time for the EU to finally do official Eurobonds. It’d likely be very attractive as a safe haven given the destruction of US hegemony & spillover to US T-bills. Bonus: Eurobonds can finance a desperately needed European security build up! 🇪🇺💶 ‼️

4 10 54

Gregory Shaffer @gregorycshaffer.bsky.social · Mar 1

He aims to leave up to his name -- Don.

Jan-Werner Mueller @jwmueller-pu.bsky.social · Feb 28

The rush (and the need) to get all these names/have everyone on the record? Methods tried and tested by Stalin and the Mafia: Make everyone complicit.

Support Pours in for President Trump, VP Vance’s America First Strength

Today, President Donald J. Trump and Vice President JD Vance made clear to the world that the United States will not be taken advantage of — a sentiment

www.whitehouse.gov

Reposted by Gregory Shaffer

Jan-Werner Mueller @jwmueller-pu.bsky.social · Feb 28

The rush (and the need) to get all these names/have everyone on the record? Methods tried and tested by Stalin and the Mafia: Make everyone complicit.

Support Pours in for President Trump, VP Vance’s America First Strength

Today, President Donald J. Trump and Vice President JD Vance made clear to the world that the United States will not be taken advantage of — a sentiment

www.whitehouse.gov

5 19 66

Reposted by Gregory Shaffer

Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · Feb 24

Hey look, <yet another> rich democracy has counted all of its votes in 24 hours, all parties (yes also the far right) have accepted the results of the election, there are no lawsuits & is no political violence, & everyone is going about their business on a normal day 🇩🇪

We, too, could have that in 🇺🇸

Wahlrecht.de @wahlrecht.de · Feb 24

Bundestagswahl • Vorläufiges Ergebnis:

➤ Das Wahlergebnis im Detail (mit Änderungen im Vergleich zur Bundestagswahl 2021): www.wahlrecht.de/news/2025/bu...

➤ Wahlbeteiligung: 82,5 % (+6,2)
(die höchste im wiedervereinigten Deutschland):
www.wahlrecht.de/news/2025/bu...

Screenshot der Tabelle mit dem vorläufigen Ergebnis im Vergleich mit dem der Bundestagswahl 2021: https://www.wahlrecht.de/news/2025/bundestagswahl-2025.html#sitzverteilung

4 15 63

Reposted by Gregory Shaffer

Julie Zebrak @juliezebrak.bsky.social · Feb 24

@stevevladeck.bsky.social on the ominous removal of the judge advocates general by the Trump administration. open.substack.com/pub/contrari...

Let’s fire all the lawyers

The ominous removal of the judge advocates general by the Trump administration.

open.substack.com

7 52 190

Gregory Shaffer @gregorycshaffer.bsky.social · Feb 25

Shame on the US & Israel. UN general assembly backs resolution condemning Russia for Ukraine war

US, Israel, Russia, Belarus and North Korea vote against resolution as 93 countries vote in favor. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...

UN general assembly backs resolution condemning Russia for Ukraine war

US, Russia, Belarus and North Korea vote against resolution as 93 countries vote in favor, spurning rival US resolution

www.theguardian.com

3 3

Reposted by Gregory Shaffer

Olabisi D. Akinkugbe @akinkugbe.bsky.social · Feb 23

On Feb. 7, I joined @mccourtschool.bsky.social & @georgetownlaw.bsky.social for a critical discussion on challenges facing democracy & the rule of law after a year of decisive elections around the world.

Thank you @gregorycshaffer.bsky.social & Daniel Kelemen for having me.

#RuleOfLaw #Africa

2 4

Reposted by Gregory Shaffer

James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · Feb 11

1/n
What Project 2025-era leadership of FAA/DOT thought worth spending time on today:

Culture-war pettiness of changing name of NOTAMs (frequent safety updates) to "Notice to Airmen," from "Notice to Air Missions."

Everyone in aviation just calls them NOTAMs. This adds zero to safety / efficiency.

FAA notice saying "Change from Notice to Air Missions to Notice to Airmen."

21 100 480

Reposted by Gregory Shaffer

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · Feb 11

Absurd. And another constraint that's binding until ... it's not www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

11 20 71