Jens Meierhenrich

Jens Meierhenrich is a Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He previously taught at Harvard University and has held visiting positions at institutions including Harvard Law School, Columbia Law School, and the University of Tokyo. His expertise spans rule of law, transitional justice, international criminal law, genocide studies, and authoritarianism.

Education: M.Phil and D.Phil in International Relations from the University of Oxford (Rhodes Scholar), studies in law and political science at Universität Passau (Germany) and the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa).

Research Interests: Meierhenrich’s work critically examines the intersections of law and violence, particularly in authoritarian and post-conflict contexts. His books include The Remnants of the Rechtsstaat: An Ethnography of Nazi Law and The Violence of Law: The Formation and Deformation of Gacaca Courts in Rwanda. He explores legal systems’ roles in dictatorship, genocide, and transitional justice.

Grants & Awards: Supported by the British Academy, Leverhulme Trust, and others. Won the American Political Science Association’s Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award (2009) and shortlisted for the Legal Theory and History Prize (Socio-Legal Studies Association).

Advising & Leadership: Editor of Cambridge Studies in Law and Society and former co-editor of Journal of Genocide Research. Conducted fieldwork in countries with violent histories, including Rwanda, Iraq, and South Africa. Fellowships at Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.

Labs/Teams: Engaged in collaborative projects on dual states, international law ethnography, and genocide studies through edited volumes like The Oxford Handbook of Transitional Justice.