Sep 30, 2026 · 21 min
Kaleck argues international law needs resistance to survive
"The Power of Law": Wolfgang Kaleck on Reconciling Legality and International Justice
The episode examines how post-9/11 abuses and the Iraq War weakened faith in universal law, while accountability efforts still offer limited avenues for justice.
- 1Western abuses after September 11 helped erode confidence in a universal international legal order.
- 2Legal cases in Germany and Europe created accountability for Syrian torture despite the absence of broader political justice.
- 3Kaleck pairs pessimism about institutions with determined hope rooted in resistance, documentation, and legal action.
Don't miss
Kaleck describes how a landmark conviction in Germany demonstrated both the reach and limits of accountability for Syria’s torture system.
The brief
Wolfgang Kaleck, a German human rights attorney, explains why attacks on international law prompted his new book and why Germany’s obligations still matter.
Kaleck traces the crisis through September 11, the Bush administration’s torture system, and the Iraq War, arguing that Western abuses damaged claims of universal legality.
The conversation turns to Syria, where Kaleck helped pursue cases in Germany and Europe against crimes committed under the Assad regime.
A landmark conviction of a Syrian torturer shows what legal action can achieve, even as the scale of Syria’s disappearances and killings exposes justice’s limits.
Kaleck closes with a political ethic drawn from Antonio Gramsci: clear-eyed pessimism about institutions paired with optimism expressed through resistance and action.
Books & mentions
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