What if America Followed the Rules?
Summary
Ezra Klein interviews Linda Kintzler about the crisis facing international law, sparked by the ICC’s arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu and the US’s hostile stance toward the court. They explore whether international law can restrain superpowers or if it is merely a tool for political power, contrasting Trump’s unilateralism with a Democratic push to return to rules-based order. The discussion highlights the tension between legal procedures and moral leadership, questioning if these institutions can prevent atrocities or only shape historical memory.
Topics discussed
Sponsor: Betterment and tax loss harvesting
Introduction: Can international law renew America?
ICC arrest warrant for Netanyahu and US stance
The double-edged sword of international law
International law as grammar and post-divine order
Biden's 'rules-based order' and its erosion
Why focus on Israel? Hypocrisy and US complicity
Trump era unilateralism vs. following the rules
Argument for rules: Restraint prevents mistakes
Cynical view vs. value of naming atrocities
1990s apex: UN failures and NATO intervention
Sponsor: MIDI Health and NYT App
Legal space for atrocities and Obama's Nobel speech
US hegemony, ICC dismantling, and sanctions
Political inconsistency: Republicans and the ICC
Machtpolitik and the misuse of surplus power
International law as power: China's approach
Post-American order and the 'joke' of law
Proceduralism, liberalism, and legal inadequacy
Sponsor: Opinions Podcast
Genocide rulings and historical memory
Limits of courts and the need for leadership
Democratic split and US complicity in Gaza
Ceasefires vs. lasting settlements
Loss of moral imagination and need for vision
Regeneration: Reparative politics and book recs
Listen ad-free on Castria