Michael J. Glennon

Michael J. Glennon is professor of constitutional and international law at The Fletcher School at Tufts University. His research focuses on constitutional law, international law, use of force, international agreements, U.S. foreign relations law, the role of Congress in foreign affairs, and the separation of powers. He teaches courses on the international legal order, public international law, foreign relations and national security law, and freedom of speech. In 2025 he received The Fletcher School's James L. Paddock Teaching Award.

Glennon is a leading scholar of constitutional and international law, and he draws upon his extensive career experience in his work. Prior to joining the faculty at Fletcher, Glennon served as legal counsel to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee where he handled legal matters involving the War Powers Resolution, the Panama Canal treaties, the Salt II treaty, the Saigon evacuation, arms export controls, treaty termination, the Taiwan Relations Act, and intelligence oversight. Afterwards, he served as a consultant to various congressional committees, the U.S. State Department, and the International Atomic Energy Agency. In 1985 he led an investigation of human rights violations by the contras in Nicaragua and testified about it before the International Court of Justice.

Glennon is a member of the Board of Editors of the American Journal of International Law, the American Law Institute, and the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a trusted source on U.S. and international law in the media, and his research appears in countless academic journals. He has been a visiting professor and fellow at several institutions, including at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the University of Paris II (Panthéon-Assas), and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

He is the author of “Free Speech and Turbulent Freedom: The Dangerous Allure of Censorship in the Digital Era” (Oxford University Press) as well as “National Security and Double Government” (OUP), “Foreign Affairs Federalism: The Myth of National Exclusivity” (OUP, co-author), “United States Foreign Relations and National Security Law” (West Publishing Company. co-author), “The Fog of Law: Pragmatism, Security, and International Law” (Stanford University Press), “When No Majority Rules: The Electoral College and Presidential Succession” (CQ Press), and “Constitutional Diplomacy” (Princeton University Press).