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LPE Blog

Weekly Roundup: June 23, 2023

Aslı Ü. Bâli and Ntina Tzouvala kick off a new symposium on economic sanctions and TWAIL, Jessica Whyte explains why international law is incapable of seeing the harm caused by economic coercion, and Maryam Jamshidi argues that sanctions have empowered a new class of colonizers. Plus, Sandeep Vaheesan on the scourge of pay-for-delay by pharmaceutical companies,. . .

Sanctions’ New Colonizers

In this moment of U.S. financial imperialism, a host of “new” colonizers have emerged, including private plaintiffs holding unsatisfied civil judgments against so-called terrorists, terrorist organizations, and countries designated by the U.S. State Department as state sponsors of terrorism. And just as the colonizers of yesteryear used imperial policies. . .

The Opacity of Economic Coercion

At a time when human rights NGOs rigorously count civilian deaths in armed conflicts, no equivalent accounting is available to victims of a war waged via exchange rates, inflation, and interest rates. The opaque mechanisms through which economic coercion inflicts harm have made it difficult to identify causation, let alone to prosecute its agents under international. . .

Weekly Roundup: June 16, 2023

Savannah Cox, John Hogan Morris, Zac J. Taylor on the networked climate authority of credit rating agencies, Madison Condon on how mainstream economic climate models underestimate the damage from climate change, and Duncan Kennedy, Karl Klare, and Michael Turk on how to empower tenant organizing. Plus, the first LPE NYC event, an extension to apply to. . .

A Wagner Act for Tenant Unions

One often overlooked reason for the current rental housing crisis is the imbalance in bargaining power between landlords and tenants. To address this imbalance, Duncan Kennedy, Karl Klare, and Michael Turk argue that we must empower tenant organizing and sketch the architecture of a legislative package that would entitle tenants to organize into unions with. . .

Weekly Roundup: June 9, 2023

Larry Lohmann on the misguided logic of carbon offsets, William Boyd on the privatized model of renewable energy development, and Shelley Welton on the atomized approach to net-zero. Plus, Luke Herrine at the nexus of antitrust and consumer protection, Jenny Hunter on Glacier Northwest, Zachary Carter on Isabella “Don’t Call it a Comeback” Weber,. . .

Renewable Power: Who Will Own the Clean Energy Future?

The IRA promises to pump billions of dollars into clean energy infrastructure, primarily though tax equity financing. This approach, despite its merits, all but guarantees that our clean energy future will be dominated by incumbent private actors, namely large financial institutions and private developers, who will capture the benefits of abundant low-cost. . .

Offset Frontiers, Fossil Capitalism and the Law

The very idea of “offsetting” emissions requires the legal creation – and exploitation – of new sacrifice zones. Predictably, this approach has been a disaster for the environment. Less noticed, however, is the extent to which offsetting has warped the entire aim of environmental law.

Weekly Roundup: June 2, 2023

Claire Dunning on the origins of the non-profit industrial complex, Lisa Knox, Hamid Yazdan Panah, and Serafin Andrade Lopez on organizing workers in California’s immigrant detention centers, and Noah Zatz on the pathways to solidarity between organized labor and the fight against mass incarceration. Plus, an LPE 101 event at LSA, Simon Torracinta on. . .

From Work in Prison to Carcerality at Work

How might organized labor be engaged in ending mass incarceration? One approach is to emphasize how carceral labor is exploited as a substitute for rights-bearing “free labor.” But the mere threat of substitution does not ensure solidarity. A more promising avenue is to consider how carcerality itself extends into so-called “free” labor. . .

Strategic Lessons from Abolitionist Labor Struggle In Immigration Detention

Since last summer, immigrants detained in California’s Mesa Verde and Golden State Annex detention centers have been on strike, demanding fair treatment as workers. Meanwhile, legal advocates have engaged in strategic policy campaigns and wage-and-hour litigation to support the strike from the outside. This partnership offers a valuable model for how. . .