Faculty Bio
David Koplow
Visiting Professor of Law
- JD, 1978, Yale Law School
- BA, 1973, Harvard College
Areas of Expertise
Professor Koplow teaches in the area of public international law.
Professional Experience
Koplow specializes is in international law, national security, military, war and peace. He served as Special Counsel for Arms Control to the General Counsel of the Department of Defense (2009-11); as Deputy General Counsel for International Affairs at the Department of Defense (1997-99); and as Attorney-Advisor and Special Assistant to the Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (1978-81). Koplow taught at Georgetown University Law School beginning in 1981. While at Georgetown he directed the Center for Applied Legal Studies, a clinic where students provide pro bono representation to refugees who seek asylum in the United States because of persecution in their homelands.
Honors and Affiliations
Koplow is a Rhodes Scholar.
Key Works
Koplow’s books include: Death by Moderation: The U.S. Military's Quest for Useable Weapons (Cambridge University Press, 2010); Non-Lethal Weapons: The Law and Policy of Revolutionary Technologies for the Military and Law Enforcement (Cambridge University Press, 2006); and Smallpox: The Fight to Eradicate a Global Scourge (University of California Press, 2003). His scholarly articles and chapters include: "ASAT-isfaction: Customary International Law and the Regulation of Anti-Satellite Weapons," in 30 Michigan Journal of International Law (2009); and "Tangled up in Khaki and Blue: Lethal and Non-Lethal Weapons in Recent Confrontations," in 36 Georgetown Journal of International Law (2005).
