We are excited to share that our Faculty Director, Professor of Law Anna Spain Bradley has been appointed as the MacArthur Foundation Chair in International Justice and Human Rights! Professor Spain Bradley noted “We are living in a time in human history when the ideals of international justice and universal human rights are under threat. Being named the MacArthur Foundation Chair in International Justice and Human Rights, at this moment in particular, is a great honor. It is also a responsibility I take seriously.”
An international legal scholar specializing in international human rights, racism and global governance, and international judicial thought, Professor Spain Bradley works to advance these aims through her leadership, scholarship and teaching. It is fitting, then, for her to be awarded the MacArthur Foundation Chair in International Justice and Human Rights.
The Chair was established to support research, teaching, and service in these fields. Previously held by UCLA Law Professor Stephen Gardbaum (now the Stephen Yeazell Endowed Chair), the MacArthur Foundation Chair has a special place in the University of California system. Professor Spain Bradley noted that “The University of California signals something when it prioritizes scholarship in this area. As the higher education community meets the current historical moment, international justice and human rights’ values need all the support they can get.”
Professor Spain Bradley joined UCLA Law in 2020 as a professor of law and serves as the Faculty Director of The Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA (with locations in Los Angeles and in Europe). She was no stranger to UCLA before joining the Law School, having previously served as UCLA’s Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Special Advisor on Strategic Planning and Values.
Her distinguished record in the field of international law includes appointments by President Biden in 2024 to the World Bank ICSID Panel of Conciliators and by the United Nations as legal expert. Her book Human Choice in International Law (Cambridge University Press) investigates the neurobiology of how people choose and the history of how personal choices have affected an array of international peace and security decisions, including intervention into armed conflict, questions of nuclear armament and use, and central institutions of the international legal order.
She is an in-demand speaker and widely published author whose next book, Global Racism: A Challenge for the World (Oxford University Press), will be published in 2026. The book grapples with why racism is global, why it is possible anywhere and everywhere people are, and examines the dangers of ideologies of racial superiority that have underpinned humanity’s greatest atrocities. “I wrote this book to advance awareness about racism as a violation of universal human rights. Once the book is launched," Prof. Spain Bradley said, “I look forward to leading opportunities for dialogue at UCLA and beyond about global racism, human rights, and our collective quest for human dignity.”
Students seeking to learn more are encouraged to enroll in Professor Spain Bradley’s courses on International Dispute Resolution, International Human Rights Law, Laws of Peace, and her seminar Recentering International Law: Black Traditions, TWAIL and Other Critical Perspectives.
On her speaking engagements, writing, and teaching, Professor Spain Bradley shared “I believe that everyone has a role to play in advancing human rights. In a world of eight billion people, the promise of universal human rights provides a foundation upon which we can build humanity, as long as it is a promise kept for all. I am particularly interested in making human rights education more inclusive and accessible to those who need it most in America and around the world.”
