Is International Law Broken? | Mattias Kumm on Democracy, War & the EU
Does international law still matter when the world's most powerful countries can ignore it? And can democracy survive when governments, courts, and international institutions disagree over who should hold power? In this episode of the Omelas Podcast, host Aryaman Varma sits down with Professor Mattias Kumm, the Inge Rennert Professor of Law at NYU School of Law and a Research Professor at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center. A leading scholar of constitutional law, international law, and legal philosophy, Professor Kumm has spent his career exploring the relationship between democracy, human rights, and political legitimacy. In this conversation, we explore: What global constitutionalism means and why it matters Whether international law can constrain powerful countries The relationship between democracy, courts, and populism Why American and European constitutional systems differ Whether the European Union is genuinely democratic What Ukraine and Gaza reveal about the international legal order The most dangerous legal ideas shaping our world today At a time when international institutions face growing scrutiny, this discussion examines some of the fundamental questions surrounding law, democracy, and the exercise of political power.
