Prerequisite: By permission. Students can apply to the course by sending a CV and a cover letter explaining their interest in the course to jfried@law.harvard.edu and jhalpern@jd17.law.harvard.edu.

Exam Type: No Exam

Boycotts today are everywhere, with U.S. states boycotting corporations, foreign nations, and even each other to promote their preferred policy objectives. When corporations and social movements do the same, states sometimes respond in kind through anti-boycott legislation that is designed to “boycott the boycotters.” This reading group will explore some of the most high-profile modern battles over boycotts and anti-boycott laws of the past few decades. Potential topics include: the states’ boycott of businesses that operate(d) in modern-day Russia and Apartheid-era South Africa; boycotts by corporations of fossil fuels, guns, and Israel; and the anti-boycott laws through which states counter-boycott the corporate boycotters.

Note: This reading group will meet on the following dates: 10/25, 11/1, 11/8, 11/15, 11/22, 11/29