Roozbeh (Rudy) B. Baker is currently a doctoral candidate (Ph.D.) at the University of Southern California (Department of Political Science / School of International Relations). Mr. Baker earlier received his LL.M. from the University of California at Berkeley (Boalt School of Law), J.D. from the University of Illinois (College of Law), and his B.A.’s in Political Science and History from the University of California at San Diego. While at Boalt, Mr. Baker served as an Assistant Editor at the Berkeley Journal of International Law. As a Political Scientist, Mr. Baker’s research interests focus upon the role of courts in new democracies, and how they aid or hinder the entrenchment of democratic norms. Specifically, Mr. Baker’s dissertation probes the independent effects transnational actors have had on judicial reform (within the specific issue-areas of organized crime and corruption) in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Romania, and Bulgaria. As a Legal Scholar, Mr. Baker’s areas of expertise center mainly upon international law (with a focus on the newly developing field of international criminal law); comparative constitutional and criminal law; the law of the European Union; and socio-legal studies. From 2003 to 2005, after receiving his J.D. from the University of Illinois, Mr. Baker worked in the Resident Legal Advisor (RLA) Office, of the U.S. Department of Justice, at the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia (EX Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). Tasked to help enhance the capacity of the Republic of Serbia to domestically try complex war crimes and organized crime cases, the RLA Office worked closely with the Republic Prosecutors (Attorney-General) of both Serbia and its sister Republic of Montenegro, Special Prosecutor for War Crimes (Serbia), and Special Prosecutor for Organized Crime (Serbia). The RLA Office helped facilitate regional cooperation, witness protection, mutual legal assistance, and applicable training programs. The RLA Office also provided advice on pending criminal justice legislation as well as on a range of issues concerning the administration of justice and the rule of law. Mr. Baker’s rich experiences in Serbia prompted him to leave the active practice of law aside and to instead return to school in order to obtain graduate degrees in law (LL.M.) and political science (Ph.D.). Starting in August of 2005, as part of his duties as a doctoral candidate at U.S.C., Mr. Baker has served as a Teaching Assistant in a number of public law and public policy courses within the Department of Political Science. Since August of 2007 Mr. Baker has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University (School of Law), where he teaches courses on International Criminal Law. Mr. Baker has published articles in leading Law Reviews and Social Science Journals exploring relevant issues in international law (including international criminal law), comparative constitutional and criminal law, law and public policy, and socio-legal studies. In addition to the English language, Mr. Baker speaks Persian, Serbo-Croatian, and French.
Published Articles
Universal Jurisdiction and the Case of Belgium: A Critical Assessment, ILSA Journal of International and Comparative Law (2010)
Praised in some quarters as a useful tool for bringing criminal perpetrators to justice, criticized...
Balancing Competing Priorities: Affirmative Action in the United States and Canada, Journal of Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems (2009)
This Article shall present a detailed analysis of Equality Rights in the United States and...
Towards a New Transitional Justice Model: Assessing the Serbian Case, San Diego International Law Journal (2009)
Given the “third wave” of democratic development and entrenchment that has taken hold around the...
Racial Formation in Quebec: A Legal Retospective, Journal of Law in Society (2008)
This Article shall use the experience of the Quebecois in Canada to survey the linkage...
Proportionality in the Criminal Law: The Differing American versus Canadian Approaches to Punishment, University of Miami Inter-American Law Review (2008)
The focus of this Article shall be upon the Eighth Amendment of the United States...
Articles Under Peer-Review
Competing Master Frames in Social Movements: Can a Failure to “Bridge” Still Allow for Success? (2009)
Since its introduction to the field in over thirty years ago, the concept of “analytic...
Customary International Law in the 21st Century: Old Challenges and New Debates (2009)
This Article will survey the new scholarship that has emerged in international law to challenge...
The Charter as an Independent Variable: Rethinking Epp’s Rights Revolution (2009)
In 1982 Canada undertook to enshrine civil liberties protections within its newly patriated Constitution. The...
The New Institutionalism and International Relations (2009)
The “New Institutionalist” movement that swept the fields of Political Science and Sociology in the...