Larry May

Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus

Larry May is Professor of Philosophy, Emeritus. He previously held the positions of W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy, Professor of Law, and Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University, where he taught since 2009.  
He also was an affiliated faculty member, and Executive Board member, of the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the Law School of the University of Pennsylvania.

He has published 30 books including a four-volume work: Crimes Against Humanity (Cambridge UP 2005), War Crimes and Just War (CUP 2007),Aggression and Crimes against Peace (CUP 2008), and Genocide (Cambridge UP 2010).
In a review of these books, a distinguished political theorist from LSE said: 
"In combination, these works amount to an enormous achievement. The breadth of scholarship is impressive in itself…[and] He set out to supply, and succeeded in producing an account of the moral foundations of international criminal law."
 
And he has written on other topics in Just War theory and international law: 
Global Justice and Due Process (Cambridge UP 2011);  
After War Ends: A Philosophical Perspective (Cambridge UP 2012)
Proportionality in International Law, with Michael Newton, (Oxford UP, 2014) 
"Contingent Pacifism," under review at Cambridge University Press 
At present he is working on two new book projects: 
 "International Criminal Tribunals: A Normative Defense" with Shannon Fyfe, and "Necessity in International Law" with Jens Ohlin

In addition he has published two volumes on 17th Century philosophers:
Limiting Leviathan: Hobbes on Law and International Affairs, (Oxford UP 2013), and Grotius and Law, co-edited with Emily McGill, (Ashgate 2014).

His work has been translated into the following languages: French, Spanish, German, Italian, Serbian, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean
 
Four conferences in Europe have recently addressed his work: Philosophy Department, Leiden University, 2009; Grotius Institute, Peace Palace at The Hague, 2012; School of International Relations, University of St. Andrews, 2013; Philosophy Department, University of Belgrade, 2014 

He has recently given invited lectures at Harvard, Berkeley, NYU, Penn, Stanford, and many other US universities.  In addition he has recently spoken at universities in Belfast, Oxford, Oslo, Copenhagen, Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney, Geneva, and Sapporo.

He has advised the US State Department, the CIA, the NIH, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.  And he has been quoted in international court decisions.