Dr Rudy Baker

Biography

Roozbeh (Rudy) B. Baker received his legal education at the University of Illinois (JD) and the University of California at Berkeley (LLM), and completed his training as a Political Scientist at the University of Southern California (PhD).As a Legal Scholar, Dr Baker's areas of expertise center mainly upon international law (with a focus on the newly developing field of international criminal law); comparative constitutional and criminal law; and socio-legal studies. As a Political Scientist, his research interests focus on courts & judicial politics in a comparative context; democratic transitions; political parties; transnational relations; organizational theory; and qualitative & multi-method research design.

Dr Baker's current research project focuses upon the role of transnational epistemic communities in international and domestic norm formation. Bringing together literature in international relations, comparative politics, and socio-legal studies, he probes the independent effects these actors have had on institutional reform in the former Yugoslavia.

Dr Baker has published articles in leading Law Reviews and Social Science Journals exploring relevant issues in international law, comparative constitutional and criminal law, law & public policy, socio-legal studies, and international relations. He has held previous academic appointments in the United States at Pepperdine University (School of Law), as well as in Bosnia-Herzegovina at the University of East Sarajevo (Faculty of Law).

Prior to entering academia, Dr Baker worked in the Senate Opposition Research Office of the Progressive-Conservative Party of Canada; and later in the Department of Justice Resident Legal Advisor's Office of the US Embassy in Serbia.

In addition to the English language, Dr Baker speaks Persian, Serbo-Croatian, and some French.

Teaching

• Legal Writing (UG)
• Public Law (UG)
• Law & Public Policy in the United States (UG)
• Introduction to International Law (UG)
• International Criminal Law (UG, PG)
• Comparative Legal Institutions (PG)
• Qualitative Methodology & Research Design (PG)

Departmental duties

• LLM Program Deputy Director

Affiliations

• American Political Science Association
• International Studies Association
• American Society of International Law

Journal Editorial Boards

DISKURSI: DRUŠTVO, RELIGIJA, KULTURA [DISCOURSES: SOCIETY, RELIGION, & CULTURE], Pale, Bosnia-HerzegovinaMember of the Editorial Board (July 2010 - Present)

BERKELEY JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW, Berkeley, California, United StatesAssistant Editor, Submissions Committee (August 2008 - May 2009)

Conference Participation

2017 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SERBIAN POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION, Belgrade, Serbia (Sponsored by the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Political Science) (September 23-24, 2017)Presenter: “The Uncodified Constitution Strikes Back: BREXIT, Illiberalism, and the Struggle Against Constitutionalization”

2016 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SERBIAN POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION, Belgrade, Serbia (Sponsored by the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Political Science) (September 24-25, 2016)Presenter: “Direct Democracy: Cure Worse than the Disease?”

TRANSITION WITHOUT JUSTICE?, Novi Sad, Serbia (Sponsored by the University of Belgrade, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory) (September 22-23, 2016)Presenter: “Institutional Design and the Struggle for Influence: Criminal Procedure Reform in BiH post-2003” (See video link at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITEaPipZqk4)

POST-SOCIALISM: HYBRIDITY, CONTINUITY, AND CHANGE, Novi Sad, Serbia (Sponsored by the University of Zurich / Center for Empirical Cultural Studies of South-East Europe) (June 25-26, 2016)Presenter: “Post-Socialism Continuity and Change: Legal Reform in BiH”

BELGRADE SECURITY FORUM 2015: DOES THE EU NEED A FOREIGN POLICY?, Belgrade, Serbia (Sponsored by the Belgrade Center for Security Policy / Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence / the European Movement in Serbia) (September 30-October 2, 2015)Presenter: “Rethinking the European Union's Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy” (See video link at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V60hyUMwMmU)

PROCEDURAL FAIRNESS IN INTERNATIONAL COURTS & TRIBUNALS, Guildford, United Kingdom (Sponsored by the University of Surrey / the University of Hull / Institute of Advanced Legal Studies / British Institute of International & Comparative Law) (September 19-20, 2014)Panel Chair (The Equality of Arms)

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW (ASIL) - EUROPEAN SOCIETY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW (ESIL) RESEARCH WORKSHOP: TRANSATLANTIC DEBATES IN INTERNATIONAL LEGAL THEORY, Cambridge, United Kingdom (Sponsored by the University of Cambridge) (September 20-21, 2012)Presenter: “The New Building Blocks of Customary International Law”

2012 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MIDWEST POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION, Chicago, Illinois, United States (April 12-15, 2012)Presenter: “Transnational Actors and the Process of Judicial Reform and Democratization: Lessons From the Former Yugoslavia”

MEĐUNARODNA NAUČNA KONFERENCIJA NA UNIVERZITETU SINERGIJA [INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE OF SINERGIIJA UNIVERSITY], Bijeljina, Bosnia-Herzegovina (March 25, 2011)Presenter (Plenary Session): “Doktrina direktnih efekata u pravu Evropske unije” [“The Doctrine of Direct Effects in European Union Law”] (Serbo-Croatian)

IZMEĐU NAUKE I POLITIKE: NAUČNA KONFERENCIJA NA UNIVERZITETU U ISTOČNOM SARAJEVU [BETWEEN SCIENCE AND POLITICS: SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EAST SARAJEVO], Pale, Bosnia-Herzegovina (May 22-23, 2010)Presenter: “Kvalitativna metodologija i istraživački dizajn u društvenim naukama” [“Qualitative Methodology and Research Design in the Social Sciences”] (Serbo-Croatian)

2008 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE CANADIAN POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (June 4-6, 2008)Presenter: “The Enshrinement of Rights: Courts and Constitutional Power in Canada”

AFTER YUGOSLAVIA: A SYMPOSIUM FOR SCHOLARS & PRACTITIONERS, Los Angles, California, United States (Sponsored by the University of Southern California) (March 30-31, 2006)Presenter: “Beyond the ICTY: The Role of the Serbian Special Court for War Crimes”

2006 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE WESTERN POLITICAL SCIENCE ASSOCIATION, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States (March 16-18, 2006)Presenter: “Judicial Independence and Democratization in Serbia”

WAR CRIMES COORDINATING COMMITTEE ROUND TABLE, Belgrade, Serbia (Sponsored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) (April 6, 2004)Presenter: “Current War Crimes Assistance Projects Being Undertaken by the U.S. Embassy-Belgrade Resident Legal Advisor's Office”