An Interview with Professor of International Law
Michael Glennon
Our crack team of web-reporters recently checked in with newly
arrived Professor of International Law Michael Glennon. Professor
Glennon, formerly Professor of Law at the University of
California, Davis, has been on duty for a little over a month. He
has already gained fame among Fletcher students for his wry sense
of humor, engaging lectures and especially for having one of the
best-organized and most accessible course websites in the school.
Q. You’ve been teaching here for about three weeks now,
what are your overall impressions?
A. “I’m extremely happy to be here. It’s really the
perfect place to be for someone with my research interests and
teaching interests. The international law problems that I’m most
interested in involve the overlap between law and international
relations. As our curriculum reveals, this is a place that is
multidisciplinary in looking at the theory behind black letter
law. People here also tend to look very closely at the policy
aspects of these issues, which is essential to understanding what
the rules really are. So all in all I find Fletcher very
stimulating.
I might say also I’m especially delighted with the student body.
I think the students here are truly an impressive lot. It’s not
simply their intellectual acuity but the multiplicity of
perspectives and backgrounds that really add to the richness of
the environment.”
Q. You were a law school professor before coming here. How
does this compare with teaching in the law school environment?
A. “There are of course reference points in law
school that law students are familiar with and that non-law
school students would be unfamiliar with. So, on occasion, it’s
necessary to explain something a little more fully. On the other
hand, at Fletcher it’s possible to be much more broad-gauged in
classroom discussions and to consider the purposes and policies
behind the issues. That’s really makes the study of law fun—the
relationship of law to culture, history, and philosophy.
Unfortunately, all too often law school squeezes those elements
out of the discussion …what is different here at Fletcher is the
possibility of looking at those dimensions in much greater
depth.”
Q. Are you coming straight from the University of
California or did you do a year…?
A. “No, I did a sabbatical year on a fellowship at
the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in
Washington.”
Q. Was the book (Limits of Law, Prerogatives of Power)
that you recently published a result of that work?
A. “That’s part of the same project. It actually was
published just before I got there. I’m still working on that same
general project, which involves the tension between hegemony and
the rule of law.”
Q. That’s your main project now? Are you going to write a book
as a result of this work?
A. “Probably. There are so many aspects to the
problem it’s not clear whether the book will be on that topic per
se or one of the component parts. I’m more and more convinced,
for example, that there’s much to be said about pragmatism in
international law and relations and the utility of the pragmatic
approach, which is responsible for much of the United States’
success over the years. So my next in-depth writing project will
probably address that issue.”
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