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Alison L. LaCroix

Alison L. LaCroix

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Alison L. LaCroix, a former member of the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States, is Professor of Law and an associate member of the History Department at the University of Chicago and the author of The Interbellum Constitution: Union, Commerce, and Slavery in the Age of Federalisms (Yale University Press, May 2024).

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  1. Alison L. LaCroix on the US Supreme Court, immigration policy, federalism, and more
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    Alison L. LaCroix on the US Supreme Court, immigration policy, federalism, and more

    Apr 30, 2024 Alison L. LaCroix explains why “originalist” methods of constitutional interpretation are deeply ahistorical, describes the zero-sum relationship between state and federal power in modern America, identifies possible historical analogues for the upcoming US presidential election, and more.

  2. Texas and the Perpetual Crisis of American Federalism
    lacroix2_ Michael GonzalezGetty Images_texasUSflags Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images

    Texas and the Perpetual Crisis of American Federalism

    Mar 26, 2024 Alison L. LaCroix highlights the constitutional threat posed by the state's attempt to impose its own immigration policy.

  3. James Madison v. Originalism
    lacroix1_Universal History ArchiveGetty Images_jamesmadison Universal History Archive/Getty Images

    James Madison v. Originalism

    Aug 26, 2022 Alison L. LaCroix shows that the dominant conservative method of constitutional interpretation is utterly ahistorical.

  1. perincek1_KENZO TRIBOUILLARDAFP via Getty Images_EUrawmaterials Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images

    Ensuring Europe’s Supply of Critical Minerals

    Rüya Perincek & Andreas Goldthau call for coordinated funding, resource diplomacy, and secondary material partnerships to boost recycling.
  2. tyson122_Andrew HarnikGettyImages_gavin_newsom Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

    Readying the Resistance, Again

    Laura Tyson & Lenny Mendonca

    The United States is not a monarchy, but a federal republic. States and cities controlled by Democrats represent half the country, and they can resist Donald Trump’s overreach by using the tools of progressive federalism, many of which were sharpened during his first administration.

    see Democrat-controlled states as a potential check on Donald Trump’s far-right agenda.
  3. khrushcheva189_Konstantin ZavrazhinGettyImages_nostalgic_man Konstantin Zavrazhin/Getty Images

    Russia’s Nostalgia Machine

    Nina L. Khrushcheva explores how the Kremlin relies on an idealized version of the past to comfort – and subdue – the public.
  4. goldberg33_Lauren DeCiccaGetty Images_shippinglaos Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images

    The Trade Shifts Redefining Economic Development

    Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg & Michele Ruta consider the long-term implications of three major trends that could reshape globalization.
  5. fischer224_Chip SomodevillaGetty Images_trumpinauguration Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Trump at the Gates

    Joschka Fischer urges Europeans to recognize that they are now on their own in an increasingly dangerous world.
  6. stiglitz347_Kevin DietschGettyImages_bye_biden Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

    The End of Progress?

    Joseph E. Stiglitz

    Though the United States has long led the world in advancing basic science and technology, it is hard to see how this can continue under President Donald Trump and the country’s ascendant oligarchy. America’s rejection of Enlightenment values will have dire consequences.

    predicts that Donald Trump’s second administration will be defined by its rejection of Enlightenment values.
  7. varoufakis123_China PhotosGetty Images_chinayuandollar China Photos/Getty Images

    China’s Trump Dilemma

    Yanis Varoufakis thinks the real choice facing Chinese leaders may be whether to challenge the dollar's hegemony head-on.
  8. lamy10_Badru KatumbaGettyImages_jackfruit_farmer Badru Katumba/Getty Images

    The Key to Narrowing the Development Gap

    Pascal Lamy, et al. explain how investments in African agri-food systems can advance many of the Sustainable Development Goals.
  9. galbraith39_rudall30Getty Images_businessmanforest rudall30/Getty Images

    Economists’ Way Out of the Wilderness

    James K. Galbraith argues that the continued dominance of nineteenth-century thinking has resulted in a catalogue of failure.

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