Harvard Law Today: A World in Flux

Highlights from this issue:

• Experts examine foreign affairs and immigration under President Trump.
• Three former U.S. solicitors general discuss how the job has changed.
• Students provide pro bono support to Hurricane Helene survivors in North Carolina.

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Ideas

The United States’ position in the world is in flux, and some of the changes could be permanent, argued experts at an event at Harvard Law School last week. While several policies are new, if not unprecedented, they said, others lean, build, or expand on those that have gone before.

The panel discussion, part of an ongoing series examining the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term, focused on the administration’s evolving strategies in foreign policy and immigration. Panelists analyzed the extent to which these developments reflect a departure from, or continuity with, post-World War II doctrines.

“There is a pattern of notable disregard of rules, restraints, alliances, and multilateral commitments.”

“The old world order, with all the problems it had, was a stable one for a long time, and I don’t think it’s coming back,” said Kristen Eichensehr, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, at the discussion, which occurred before the administration unveiled reciprocal tariffs on April 2.

The panel, which was moderated by Ruth Okediji LL.M. ’91 S.J.D. ’96, the Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Professor of Law at Harvard, also featured Harvard Law faculty members William Alford ’77, Sabrineh Ardalan ’02, and Naz Modirzadeh ’02.