30 October 2026
A Blue Wave’s Limits
If we can still believe the pollsters, Democrats are headed for a very good night next Tuesday. Across the United States, candidates running as Democrats are either leading or running even with their Republican opponents. That the president’s party loses ground in the midterms, often decisively, is one of the more reliable patterns in American politics. But if such a blue wave materializes, we should neither read it as voters’ repudiation of the Republican Party, nor as an endorsement of the Democrats. It is better understood as evidence that American democracy can still deliver on some, if not all, of its promises. Continue reading >>
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30 October 2026
Die Grenzen einer Blue Wave
Wenn man den Umfrageinstituten noch trauen darf, steht den Demokraten am kommenden Dienstag ein ziemlich guter Wahlabend bevor. Im ganzen Land liegen demokratische Kandidat:innen entweder vorn oder liefern sich mit ihren republikanischen Konkurrent:innen ein Kopf-an-Kopf-Rennen. Dass die Partei des Präsidenten bei den Midterms an Zustimmung verliert – oft sogar deutlich –, gehört zu den verlässlichsten Mustern der US-Politik. Eine solche „Blue Wave“ sollte aber weder als Abrechnung mit den Republikanern noch als Blankoscheck für die Demokraten missverstanden werden. Sie wäre vielmehr ein Zeichen dafür, dass die amerikanische Demokratie zumindest einige ihrer Versprechen einlösen kann – wenn auch nicht alle. Continue reading >>08 July 2026
(De)Valuing Citizenship
Last Tuesday, the US Supreme Court released its final merits opinion of its October 2025 term. In Trump v Barbara, a razor thin 5-4 majority deemed the President’s attempt to deny American citizenship to children born on U.S soil to immigrant parents who are undocumented or present on certain visas unconstitutional. The decision is a rare and important win for immigrants and American constitutional democracy. But Barbara should not be remembered as an example of principled judicial resistance against gross executive overreach. Continue reading >>
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09 April 2026
A Win That Isn’t
Last week, the U.S. government asked the Supreme Court to bless its attempt to put the country’s citizenship attribution rule into the service of its anti-immigrant agenda. At issue was the constitutionality and legality of the President’s Executive Order 14160. It seeks to deny citizenship to children born to non-citizen mothers who are undocumented or lawfully but temporarily present and non-citizen fathers who do not possess a green card. After Wednesday’s oral argument, there is broad consensus that the Court is unlikely to do so. Continue reading >>
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16 May 2025
Whom Is Citizenship For?
On Thursday, May 15, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in “the birthright citizenship case.” Instead of deciding on the constitutionality of President Trump’s executive order (EO) banning birthright citizenship for certain classes of individuals, the Court is asked to decide whether lower courts exceeded their authority in placing a nation-wide injunction on the government’s order. But this doesn't make the decision any less significant. Continue reading >>
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06 May 2025
What is Citizenship For?
Last week, the CJEU declared Malta’s citizenship for investment scheme incompatible with EU law. Setting aside the evidently highly questionable quality and defensibility of the Court’s legal reasoning, the decision clearly casts Union citizenship as a status constituted by meanings and norms specific to the European Union as a normative legal project. What are we to make of this conception of citizenship, and its use by the Court to strike down citizenship for investment schemes? Continue reading >>
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24 January 2025
„Das Militär einzusetzen ist eine echte politische Zäsur“
Fünf Fragen an Amanda Frost Continue reading >>
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24 January 2025
“The use of the military is a real sea change in policy”
Five Questions to Amanda Frost Continue reading >>21 November 2024
Deporting the Enemy Within
Two weeks ago, the Israeli Knesset passed a law that grants the Minister of the Interior powers to deport family members of terrorists, including Israeli citizens. The logic of this law, its instrumentalization of legitimate security concerns to not just deny the rights and membership status of minority groups but attack the foundations of a constitutional system, is not unique to contemporary Israeli politics. As such, this logic needs confronting and refuting, and this law presents an important opportunity to do so. Continue reading >>
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