Matthew C. Waxman

Adjunct Senior Fellow for Law and Foreign Policy

Browse My Work
Profile picture

The President’s Inbox

The Laws of War, With Matthew Waxman

November 3, 2023
An Israeli armored personnel carrier near the Gaza-Israel border on October 31, 2023.

Expert Bio

Matthew C. Waxman is adjunct senior fellow for law and foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is also the Liviu Librescu Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, where he directs the National Security Law program, and he previously served as co-chair of the Cybersecurity Center at Columbia University’s Data Science Institute. 

Waxman previously served at the U.S. Department of State as principal deputy director of policy planning. His prior government appointments included deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, director for contingency planning and international justice at the National Security Council, and executive assistant to the national security advisor. He is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School, and studied international relations as a Fulbright Scholar in the United Kingdom. After law school, he served as law clerk to Supreme Court justice David H. Souter and U.S. Court of Appeals judge Joel M. Flaum.

affiliations

  • Columbia Law School/Columbia University, Liviu Librescu Professor of Law
  • Israel America Academic Exchange, International Academic Board Member
  • Kibu, Inc., advisor
  • Skydio, advisor
  • WestExec Advisors, senior advisor
  • West Point Lieber Institute for Law & Land Warfare, senior fellow

Media Inquiries

For media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
Clear All
Regions
Topics
Type

More CFR Experts

See all Experts

  • Shuxian Luo

    Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow

  • Rush Doshi

    C.V. Starr Senior Fellow for Asia Studies and Director of the China Strategy Initiative

  • Inu Manak

    Fellow for Trade Policy

Explore More on International Law

International Law

Congress Should Close the ‘Crimes Against Humanity’ Loophole
The last Congress delivered a big win for atrocity accountability by passing the Justice for Victims of War Crimes Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in January of this year. The law clos…

Article by David J. Scheffer and Kristin Smith February 21, 2023 International Institutions and Global Governance Program

Immigration and Migration

Climate Change Is Fueling Migration. Do Climate Migrants Have Legal Protections?
As climate change makes some parts of the earth uninhabitable, a climate migration crisis looms that international law is not prepared to address.

In Brief by Mia Prange December 19, 2022

United Kingdom

A New Roadblock for Scottish Independence
The United Kingdom’s highest court dealt a blow to the push for a new referendum on Scottish independence. What comes next?

Article by David J. Scheffer December 9, 2022 International Institutions and Global Governance Program

Top Stories on CFR

United States

Trump and the Future of the USMCA
President-elect Trump has threatened new tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico. His trade plans threaten the future of the United States’ largest free trade agreement.

Expert Brief by Shannon K. O'Neil and Julia Huesa January 17, 2025

Foreign Policy

The Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire and its Implications
After the Israel-Hamas cease-fire announcement, Steven A. Cook, CFR’s Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies, and I discuss its significance and implications.

Article by Michael Froman January 17, 2025

Cuba

U.S.-Cuba Relations
Since Fidel Castro’s ascent to power in 1959, U.S.-Cuba ties have endured a nuclear crisis, a long U.S. economic embargo, and persistent political hostilities. The diplomatic relationship thawed under President Barack Obama, but many restrictions have since been renewed.

Timeline by CFR.org Editors January 15, 2025