Professor Ian Johnstone, Tufts University

Security Council paralysis on the Ukraine and Syria; an increase in violent extremism and cyber-attacks; ebola, zika and other infectious diseases; unprecedented flows of refugees and migrants; continuing allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers.  As the race for election of the next Secretary-General heats up, the UN faces a crisis of relevance and a crisis of legitimacy. Professor Ian Johnstone  - who has worked with two previous Secretaries-General - will examine these crises and present a set of priorities for Ban Ki Moon’s successor. 

Ian Johnstone is Professor of International Law at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, where he has been a faculty member since the year 2000. From 2013 to 2015, he was also the Academic Dean. Prior to joining Fletcher in 2000, he served in the United Nations’ Executive Office of the Secretary-General. His most recent books include The Oxford Handbook on International Organizations (co-editor, forthcoming 2016); Law and Practice of the United Nations, 2nd edition (co-author, 2016); and The Power of Deliberation: International Law, Politics and Organizations (2011). Selected articles and book chapters include “The UN Security Council and International Law” in Einsiedel, Malone and Ugarte eds, The United Nations Security Council in the 21st Century (2016);“When the Security Council is Divided: Imprecise Authorizations, Implied Mandates and the Unreasonable Veto” in Weller ed, Oxford Handbook of the Use of Force (2015); “Law-making by International Organizations: Perspectives from International Law/International Relations Theory”, in Dunoff and Pollack eds Interdisciplinary Perspectives on International Law and International Relations: The State of the Art (2013); and “Legislation and adjudication in the UN Security Council: bringing down the deliberative deficit,” American Journal of International Law (2008). From 2005-2007, he was the lead author and founding editor of the Annual Review of Global Peace Operations. He is currently on the editorial boards of Global Governance journal and International Organizations Law Review. Johnstone, recipient of the James L. Paddock Teaching Award in 2005, teaches courses in international organizations and peace operations. He continues to serve as a regular consultant to the United Nations, and is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Center on International Cooperation, New York University. A citizen of Canada, he holds an LL.M degree from Columbia University and JD and B.A. degrees from the University of Toronto.