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September 9, 2026
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In this strikingly original and meticulously researched book, Dr. Zachary Kaufman argues that the United States has led in the creation of some crucial international criminal tribunals for prudential reasons. The book provides essential insights for all interested in preventing mass atrocity, most importantly that war crimes tribunals have been and can be a prudent policy option for the United States.
Dr. Kathryn A. Sikkink
Ryan Family Professor of Human Rights Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, and Carol K. Pforzheimer Professor, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University; author, The Justice Cascade: How Human Rights Prosecutions are Changing World Politics
Dr. Zachary Kaufman dissects, from the perspective of United States foreign policy, the design and establishment of four historic war crimes tribunals—Nuremberg, Tokyo, the former Yugoslavia, and Rwanda—and explains why they embodied uniquely crafted means of transitional justice . . . . Dr. Kaufman, a rising scholar, has written a tour de force that sets the stage for future tribunals and non-judicial approaches to transitional justice in a turbulent world.
The Honorable David J. Scheffer
Mayer Brown/Robert A. Helman Professor of Law, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law; the first U.S. Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues; author, All the Missing Souls: A Personal History of the War Crimes Tribunals
Dr. Zachary Kaufman is an astute scholar and experienced practitioner on transitional justice issues. Through detailed, original research, he uncovers the factors driving U.S. policymaking on transitional justice. This important book—compellingly written, meticulously documented, and persuasively argued—is a must-read for anyone interested in international law, international relations, human rights, and U.S. foreign policy.
Kate Stith
Lafayette S. Foster Professor of Law, Yale Law School
Why does the United States not consistently embrace prosecution for mass atrocities committed abroad? Dr. Zachary Kaufman has made a seminal contribution to this topic with this superbly well-documented and argued book. He improves our understanding of transitional justice, international governance, and U.S. foreign policy.
The Honorable Luis Moreno-Ocampo
first Chief Prosecutor, International Criminal Court; Senior Fellow, Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, Yale University
Dr. Zachary Kaufman is at the forefront of the transitional justice movement in the international sphere. His scholarship, his work experience with the U.S. government and three war crimes tribunals, and his personal philanthropy in Rwanda and elsewhere inform his new book, taking it out of the ivory tower and into the human and institutional wreckage left by crimes against humanity.
Peter H. Schuck
Simeon E. Baldwin Professor Emeritus of Law, Yale Law School
Dr. Zachary Kaufman’s book makes an important contribution to our understanding of the how’s and why’s of America’s transitional justice policies. His “prudentialism” account of the making of U.S. transitional justice policies is deftly executed, backed up by substantial primary sources, and, ultimately, persuasive. A superb achievement.
Dr. Yuen Foong Khong
Li Ka Shing Professor of Political Science, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore; former Professor of International Relations and Professorial Fellow of Nuffield College, University of Oxford
In United States Law and Policy on Transitional Justice, Dr. Zachary Kaufman offers a historically-rich and nuanced account of how the U.S. government has addressed perpetrators of the most serious international crimes from 1945 up to the present day . . . . At a time when both international organisations and national governments are trying to bring perpetrators of atrocity crimes to justice, and when the project of international criminal justice itself is under scrutiny, this book is an important resource for understanding the motivations and track record of U.S. law and policy.
Dr. Jennifer M. Welsh
Professor and Chair in International Relations, European University Institute; Senior Research Fellow, Somerville College, University of Oxford; Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the Responsibility to Protect
Illuminating and trenchant, Dr. Zachary Kaufman’s book takes us behind the scenes and sheds needed light on the high stakes policymaking guiding the U.S. role in transitional justice and humanitarian intervention.
Ruti G. Teitel
Ernst C. Stiefel Chair of Comparative Law, New York Law School; author, Transitional Justice and Globalizing Transitional Justice
Dr. Zachary Kaufman’s original research and first-rate analysis deepen our understanding of the role played by the United States in establishing international criminal tribunals. His book casts new light on the interplay of politics, pragmatism, and the declared support for international norms in making the policy decisions to submit alleged perpetrators ‘to the judgment of the law.
The Honorable Stephen J. Rapp
Former Chief of Prosecutions, UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda; former Chief Prosecutor, Special Court for Sierra Leone; former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice
This important, original, and unique contribution to the literature on transitional justice examines one of its foremost practitioners, the United States, starting with the post-Second World War context in Germany and Japan to the challenges of Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and the modern day. Profound new insights, of relevance to many parts of the world, emerge from such a compelling comparative approach.
Dr. William A. Schabas
Professor of Human Rights and International Criminal Law, University of Leiden; author, The International Criminal Court: A Commentary on the Rome Statute and Unimaginable Atrocities: Justice, Politics, and Rights at the War Crimes Tribunals; former Commissioner, Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission