home > the cfr think tank > experts > noah feldman
Adjunct Senior Fellow
Contact Info:
E-mail: noah_feldman@harvard.edu
Location:
New York, NY
Media downloads:
High-resolution photo (JPG, 235K)
One-page bio (PDF, 59K)
CV (PDF, 26K)
Professor of law at Harvard University. Author of After Jihad, What We Owe Iraq, and Divided by God. Former senior constitutional adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. Author of The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State, released in April 2008.
Expertise:Relationship between law and religion in both the Western and Middle Eastern context; Middle East politics; North Africa; Islamic constitutional thought.
Experience:Professor, Harvard Law School (2007-present); Professor, New York University School of Law (2001-2007); Visiting Associate Professor of Law, Harvard Law School (2004-2005); Visiting Associate Professor of Law, Yale Law School (2004-2005); Senior Adviser for Constitutional Law, Coalition Provisional Authority, Iraq (2003); Law Clerk to Justice David H. Souter of the U.S. Supreme Court (1998-99); Law Clerk to Chief Judge Harry T. Edwards of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (1997-98).
Honors:Carnegie Scholar, Carnegie Corporation (2005).
Selected Publications:Divided By God: America’s Church-State Problem and What We Should Do About It (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006); What We Owe Iraq: War and the Ethics of Nation Building (Princeton University Press, 2004); After Jihad: America and the Struggle for Islamic Democracy (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003).
Related Links:
Noah Feldman, Leading Expert on Islamic Thought, Joins Council to Examine Future of Democracy in the Middle East
Current Research Projects
June 10, 2009
Op-Ed
New York Times
Noah Feldman argues, "many of the greatest [Supreme Court] justices have been irascible, socially distant, personally isolated, arrogant, or even downright mean."
See more in United States, Rule of Law
March 18, 2009
Op-Ed
New York Times
Noah Feldman asks, "Has the Obama administration changed the legal rules for detaining suspects in the war on terrorism, or is it continuing in the footsteps of the Bush administration?"
See more in United States, Human Rights, Terrorism
February 10, 2009
Article
New York Times Magazine
Noah Feldman discusses the need for a balance between secrecy and transparency in the U.S. government. He explains, "The effective operation of even the most democratic government requires secrecy and surprise as well as transparency and predictability."
See more in U.S. Strategy and Politics
December 10, 2008
Academic Module
This module features teaching notes by Noah Feldman, author of The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State, along with other resources to supplement the text. This CFR book provides a sweeping history of the traditional Islamic constitution—its noble beginnings, its downfall, and the renewed promise it could hold for Muslims and Westerners alike.
November 30, 2008
Op-Ed
The New York Times Magazine
Noah Feldman writes that "the time for change is now, lest Afghanistan become the quagmire that Iraq was once said to be."
See more in Afghanistan, Iraq, U.S. Election 2008
October 10, 2008
Interview
Noah Feldman, CFR adjunct senior fellow and Harvard constitutional law expert, says two landmark Supreme Court rulings send conflicting messages to the world about U.S. adherence to international law.
See more in United States, International Law, Rule of Law
September 28, 2008
Article
The New York Times Magazine
Noah Feldman writes that "it is becoming increasingly clear that the defining constitutional problem for the present generation will be the nature of the relationship of the United States to what is somewhat optimistically called the international order."
See more in Global Governance, International Peace and Security, U.S. Strategy and Politics
August 10, 2008
Op-Ed
New York Times Magazine
Noah Feldman writes that “paradoxically… saber rattling against Iran may help achieve political resolution.”
See more in Middle East, Iran, U.S. Strategy and Politics
June 22, 2008
Op-Ed
New York Times
Some degree of anti-immigrant sentiment can usually be found all over the world; but in Western Europe this sentiment is turning into something much more dangerous, says Noah Feldman.
See more in Western Europe, Immigration, Religion
June 18, 2008
Audio
Listen to Noah Feldman, adjunct senior fellow at CFR and professor of law at Harvard Law School, discuss his new book, The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call Series.
See more in Religion
April 7, 2008
Op-Ed
New York Times Magazine
Noah Feldman discusses what crackdowns and elections in Iraq never quite achieve.
March 25, 2008
Video
Watch experts discuss the role of religion with regard to the state.
See more in Nation Building, Religion
March 25, 2008
Audio
Listen to experts discuss the role of religion with regard to the state.
See more in Nation Building, Religion
March 25, 2008
Transcript
Experts discuss trends in religion and foreign policy.
See more in Religion, Religion and Politics
March 19, 2008
Transcript
See more in Middle East, Rule of Law, Religion, Religion and Politics
March 17, 2008
Op-Ed
New York Times Magazine
Millions of Muslims think Shariah means the rule of law. Noah Feldman examines whether they could be right.
See more in Middle East, Religion and Politics
April 2008
Book
In this penetrating book, Noah Feldman tells the story behind the increasingly popular call for the establishment of the sharia—the law of the traditional Islamic state—in the modern Muslim world.
See more in Middle East, Political Movements
February 8, 2008
Op-Ed
New York Times
Noah Feldman explains that “if Turkey is to continue its integration into European and Western civilization, it needs to show that liberal values and Islam are not only compatible but complementary.”
See more in Turkey, Minorities, Diversity and Foreign Policy, Ethnicity and National Identity, Religion and Politics
January 13, 2008
Op-Ed
New York Times Magazine
Noah Feldman writes that “ Iraq has become the great disappearing issue of the early primary season.”
See more in Iraq, Wars and Warfare, U.S. Election 2008
January 6, 2008
Op-Ed
New York Times Magazine
Noah Feldman discusses why Mitt Romney's faith is so controversial.
See more in United States, U.S. Election 2008
Explore the international oceans regime with a new interactive from CFR's program on International Institutions and Global Governance.
This report explores how international legal rules regarding military force might evolve to better meet the challenges of mass atrocities.
The authors of this CSR explain why the United States needs to place greater emphasis on preventive action and how current organizational arrangements can be changed to meet that need.
This report addresses pan-Asian and trans-Pacific architectures and guidelines for how the United States can revise its approach in order to consolidate and improve the efficacy of these Asian institutions.
Complete list of Council Special Reports
Through compelling analysis and rich historical examples that span the globe and range from the thirteenth century through the present, Charles A. Kupchan explores how adversaries can transform enmity into amity, and exposes prevalent myths about the causes of peace.
With the insights of geopolitical experts and investors, the authors examine Israel's adversity-driven culture to offer prescriptions for a global economy on the rebound.
Vali Nasr reveals that there is a vital but unseen rising force in the Islamic world—a new business-minded middle class—that is building a vibrant new Muslim world economy and that holds the key to winning the cold war against Iran and extremists.
Complete list of CFR Books
For more information on the David Rockefeller Studies Program, contact:
James M. Lindsay
Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair
+1.212.434.9626 (NY); +1.202.509.8405 (DC)
jlindsay@cfr.org
Janine Hill
Deputy Director of Studies Administration
+1.212.434.9753
jhill@cfr.org
