Ayelet Shachar

Ayelet Shachar is the Irving G. and Eleanor D. Tragen Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. She specializes in comparative citizenship, immigration law, human rights, and the intersection of sovereignty with territorial governance. Her work addresses transformative legal frameworks for migration, multicultural jurisdictions, and global inequality.

Education

• J.S.D. (Doctor of the Science of Law), Yale Law School (1997)
• LL.M. (Master of Laws), Yale Law School (1995)
• LL.B. (Bachelor of Laws), Tel Aviv University (1993)
• B.A. (Political Science), Tel Aviv University (1993)

Research Focus

Shachar's research explores citizenship as inherited property ('birthright lottery'), legal cartographies of shifting borders, and multicultural jurisdictions balancing cultural diversity with gender equality. She analyzes transnational governance of skilled migration, market-driven citizenship transformations, and asylum mechanisms.

Awards and Honors

• Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize (2019) for groundbreaking work on citizenship
• APSA Migration & Citizenship Career Achievement Award (2024)
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (2014)
• Member, Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities (2017)

Professional Activities

Shachar leads the Transformations of Citizenship Research Group at Goethe University Frankfurt and will be a Visiting Professor at Harvard Law School (2025-2026). She has advised the European Parliament, World Bank, and NGOs, and held visiting positions at Stanford and McGill.