David Bosco

This week was the official publication of my new book, The Poseidon Project, by Oxford University Press. A brief thread on my central argument: amazon.com/dp/0190265647/… via @amazon

Join Freedom House and the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies for a discussion on “Defending Democracy, Countering Authoritarianism, and the Future of U.S. Global Leadership” this Monday, June 8 in Chicago. Freedom House CEO @Jamiemfly and Hamilton Lugar School Interim Dean David Bosco (@multilateralist ) will examine the state of global freedom, the rise of authoritarian influence, and how governments, institutions, and civil society can respond to democratic backsliding. events.iu.edu/hls/event/2293…

@AmbJohnBolton Technically transit passage, not innocent passage

If the world allows Iran to keep control of the Strait, including collecting tolls, we are going to regret it. Every other country around the world depends on freedom of the seas, and that is the fundamental question that Iran is raising here. What had been an international waterway where there was a right of innocent passage is on the way to being history. pbs.org/newshour/show/…

Terrific opportunity. Please share with your networks. Senior Editor/Writer, Executive & Editorial Communications - Job opening at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs jobs.localjobnetwork.com/j/87239103

In light of the Strait of Hormuz crisis, worth reposting this thread on my recent book about the fragility of "freedom of the seas" and how its golden age is now well past.

@oonahathaway @kevinjonheller @sevslv International law folks--there's been a lot of discussion from international law folks about infrastructure in Iran and whether it can be lawfully targeted but I haven't seen much on Ukraine's strikes on Russian civilian oil facilities. Anyone aware of a good analysis there?

Member states of the International Criminal Court voted on Wednesday to move ahead with disciplinary proceedings against Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, officials familiar with the vote said. on.wsj.com/4m7HwfB

Assessing the ICC’s Impact in Ukraine at justsecurity.org/130832/assessi…

@oonahathaway @nytimes Interesting that you don't include the Kosovo humanitarian intervention and the forcible change in Serbia's borders in your chronology of the unraveling. That episode seems to loom large in Russian minds.

My latest, in the @nytimes: nytimes.com/2026/01/06/opi…

If memory serves, the US used all of these arguments to some extent in justifying the 1989 invasion of Panama, which has a lot of parallels.

The simpler (but least convincing) argument would be to shove the whole operation into the self-defense framework, which is what countries tend to do when they put forward arguments on the international stage.

It will be interesting to see what (if any) international law argument the US government makes about the Venezuela incursion.

For anyone needing a refresher on the history of piracy, privateering, and the law of the sea, please consider my recent book: The Poseidon Project 😉 a.co/d/d93BrnY

GOP lawmakers want to bring back privateers washingtonpost.com/world/2025/12/…

More ICC judges added to the US sanctions list.

This is what the Security Council horseshoe table will look like as of January 2026!

(One oddity of the US-Venezuela confrontation is that neither country is a member of UNCLOS, the main treaty regulating maritime affairs.)

If open conflict does break out, it may well be because of an incident related to maritime rights. As in the South China Sea, disagreements about maritime zones and rules could easily provide a spark to conflict.

With tension between the United States and Venezuela mounting, it's worth remembering that there are longstanding disagreements between them over maritime rights.