Larry Catá Backer — 白轲

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SUMMARY INFORMATION

Contact Information:

Pennsylvania State University, 239 Lewis Katz Building, University Park, PA 16802. 1-814-863-3640 (direct); 1-814-863-7274 (fax);  lcb11@psu.edu  (institutional e-mail).

*   *   *   *   *   *

Personal E-mail: lcb911@gmail.com

SSRN Author page:  http://ssrn.com/author=259226

E-Essays: “Law at the End of the Day”:  http://www.lcbackerblog.blogspot.com

“白轲：法学之彼岸”: http://blog.sina.com.cn/lcbackerblog

Personal Web Site: http://www.backerinlaw.com

http://works.bepress.com/larry_backer/

Current Permanent Full Time Academic Positions:

–W. Richard and Mary Eshelman Faculty Scholar and Professor of Law and International Affairs, Pennsylvania State University (Law since 2001; S.I.A. since 2010).

Education:

Columbia University, New York, New York (1979-1982).  School of Law, Juris Doctor, May, 1982.  Honors: Stone Scholar (1979-80), Kent Scholar (1980-81), Emil Schlesinger Labor Law Prize (1981).  Activities: Columbia Law Review (1980-82, Publishable Notes Editor, 1981-82), Teaching Fellow in Civil Procedure (1981), Member, Latin American Law Students Association (1979-82).

Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts (1977-1979).  J.F. Kennedy School of Government, Master of Public Policy, June 1979.  Activities: Teaching Assistant in “Law and Public Policy” and “Public Management.”

Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts (1973-1977).  Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude with honors in history, May, 1977.  Honors: Phi Beta Kappa (1976), Dean’s List (1973-76), Brandeis Scholar (1976), Cohen Fellowship and Saval-Sacher Scholarship for senior thesis research in Madrid and Salamanca, Spain (topic: the evolution of poor law theory in eighteenth century Spain).

Service and Other Professional Activities (selected):

Chair, Penn State University Joint Diversity Awareness Task Force (2015-2016).

American Law Institute (elected member since 1996).

European China Law Studies Association (since 2014).

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) (academic member since 2006).

Phi Beta Kappa (since 1976).

State Bar of California (since 1982).

Coalition for Peace and Ethics (a non-profit NGO) (Director since 2006).

Editorial Boards (Selected)

–Business and Human Rights Journal (Cambridge University Press, since 2014).

—Chinese and Comparative Law Series (Brill, since 2020).

—Law and Visual Jurisprudence Book Series (Springer, since 2019);

–Iuris Dictio (Colegio de Jurisprudencia Universidad de San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador since 2016).

— International Private Law Book Series (Eurilink University Press, Rome, Italy,  since 2017).

Routledge (USA & UK), Globalization Law & Policy Series editor (since 2010).

Honors/Awards (Selected):

2019 Outstanding Service Award, 4^th National People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference

2014-15  Schreyer Honors College Distinguished Honors Faculty in Law, Pennsylvania     State University

2013 Friend of the Commonwealth Award (Penn State)

2012 Committee on Institutional  Cooperation (CIC), Academic Leadership Program Fellow

1996 University of Tulsa Outstanding Teacher Award; University of Tulsa College of Law: Outstanding Faculty Member, awarded by College of Law first year class; University of Tulsa College of Law: Outstanding Faculty Member, awarded by College of Law upper classes.

Courses Taught:

Law:    Corporate Social Responsibility Law;  Elements of Law; Corporate Law; Multinational Corporations Law; Civil Procedure; European Union Law I (Constitutional, Legal & Institutional Framework) & II (Substantive Law and International Relations); Commercial Law of the European Union; Constitutional Law of Religion; Comparative Constitutional Law; Constitutional Law; Constitutional Law Seminar (Personal Autonomy, 14^th Amendment, Morality Legislation, and Religion); Comparative Constitutional Law Seminar; Comparative Law; International Civil Litigation in U.S. Courts; Comparative Corporate Law;  International Business Transactions; Transnational Law & Legal Issues.

School of International Affairs: Actors, Institutions, and Legal Frameworks in International Affairs (Core course); Globalization and Corporate Social Responsibility; Introduction to U.S. Law and Legal Systems.

Short Courses prepared for foreign programs:  Introduction to the Language and Systems of Law in the US (last taught in Panama, 2019).

Publications:

1. Books:

The United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights: A Commentary (Oxford Commentaries in International Law ) (Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2023).

War, Law, Policy, and the Changing Global (Legalist) Order: Essays On the First Anniversary of the End of Current Phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War,  Emancipating the Mind in the New Era: Bulletin of the Coalition for Peace & Ethics 17(1) (Summer 2022) (Larry Catá Backer and Alexander Hansen (eds), forthcoming 2023).

The Self-Reflexive Imaginaries of Law: Essays on Contemporary Legalization in an Age of Algorithmic Law and Platform Governance, Emancipating the Mind in the New Era: Bulletin of the Coalition for Peace & Ethics 16(1) (Summer 2021) (Larry Catá Backer and Matthew McQuilla (eds), 2022) (ISSN 2689-0283 (print); 2689-0291 (online); ISBN 978-1-949943-08-5 (paperback); 978-1-949943-09-2 (Digital).

Essays on Contemporary China–Heartland, Periphery, and Silk Roads, Emancipating the Mind in the New Era: Bulletin of the Coalition for Peace & Ethics 16(1) (Summer 2021) (Larry Catá Backer and Matthew McQuilla (eds), 2022) (ISSN 2689-0283 ((print); 2689-0291 (online); ISBN 978-1-949943-06-1 (online digital); 978-1-949943-07-8 (paperback)).

Hong Kong Between ‘One Country’ and ‘Two Systems’: Essays from the Year that Transformed the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (June 2019 – June 2020) (Little Sir Press, 2021) (ISBN: 978-1-949943-03-0 (ebk); 978-1-949943-05-4 (paperback)).

Cuba’s Caribbean Marxism: Essays on Ideology, Government, Society, and Economy in the Post Fidel Castro Era (Little Sir Press, 2018). ISBN: ISBN: 978-1-949943-00-9 (pbk) • e-ISBN 978-1-949943-01-6 (ebk)). books2read.com/u/4AYeJ0.

Elements of Law and the United States Legal System (Durham, N.C.: Carolina Academic Press, forthcoming 2019). ISBN: 978-1-61163-927-8 • e-ISBN: 978-1-61163-984-1.

Law and Religion: Cases, Materials, and Readings (3rd ed., West Academic Publishing, 2015) (with Frank S. Ravitch). ISBN 13: 9780314284075.

Lawyers Making Meaning:  The Semiotics of Law in Legal Education II (Dordrecht: Springer, 2013) (with Jan M. Broekman) ISBN 978-94-007-5457-7; ISBN 978-94-007-5458-4 (eBook).

Comparative Corporate Law: United States, European Union, China and Japan (Durham, N.C.: Carolina Academic Press, 2002) ISBN 0-89089-526-0; LCCN 2001088034.

1. Books; Edited Collections:

The Cambridge Handbook of Chinese Constitutional Law (Guobin Zhu, Björn Ahl & Larry Catá Backer; proposal under review 2023-2024).

The Current State and Future Trajectories of Human Rights Due Diligence Laws: New Legal Norms on Human Rights Due Diligence (Larry Catá Backer and Claire Methven O’Brien, eds.; Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group forthcoming 2024).

Signs In Law, A Source Book – The Semiotics of Law in Legal Education III (Jan M. Broekman and Larry Catá Backer, eds., Dordrecht, Neth: Springer,  2014) (e-book ISBN 978-3-319-09837-1; hardback ISBN 978-3-319-09836-4).

Harmonizing Law in an Era of Globalization:  Convergence, Divergence, Resistance (Durham, N.C.: Carolina Academic Press, 2007) ISBN 0-89089-585-6 (editor and contributor).

1. Contributions to Edited Volumes (selected):

“Whole Process Democracy” as Applied Constitutionalism, in The Cambridge Handbook of Chinese Constitutional Law (Guobin Zhu, Björn Ahl & Larry Catá Backer; proposal under review 2023-2024).

Human Rights Due Diligence in the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights, in The Current State and Future Trajectories of Human Rights Due Diligence Laws: New Legal Norms on Human Rights Due Diligence (Larry Catá Backer and Claire Methven O’Brien, eds.; Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group forthcoming 2024).

Chinese State-Owned Companies and Investment in Latin America and Europe, in Human Rights and environmental sustainability in state-owned enterprises in Latin America and Europe (Judith Schonsteiner and Markus Krajewski, eds., forthcoming 2024).

Describe, Predict, Intervene!—On Objective Subjectivities and the Simulacra of Semiotics in the New Era; Simulated Signification and of Mechanical Meaning Making in Managing Post-COVID Human Society, in Rearguards of Subjectivity (Frank Fleerackers (ed); Springer, forthcoming 2023).

“The Flower of Democracy Blooms Brilliantly in China [中国的民主之花绚丽绽放]”: The Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese Constitutional Order, in  Routledge Handbook of C Constitutional Law in China (Ngoc Son Bui, Stuart Hargreaves, Ryan Mitchell (eds); Routledge, 2022) chp. 5, pp. 67-84 (ISBN 9780367651855).

Principle 4: The Obligations of States in Markets With Respect to Enterprises Owned, Controlled, or Supported by the State, in Elgar Commentaries on the United Nations Principles of Business and Human Rights (Barnali Choudhury, ed., Edward Elgar, forthcoming 2021).

‘Un Somaro Piumato’–Rethinking the Scope and Nature of State Liability for Acts of their Commercial Instrumentalities: State Owned Enterprises and State-Owner Liability in the Post-Global, Julien Chaisse, Jędrzej Górski and Dini Sejko (eds) The Regulation of State-controlled enterprises: An Interdisciplinary and Comparative Examination (Springer forthcoming 2021).

The Problem of the Enterprise and the Enterprise of Law: Multinational Enterprises as Polycentric Transnational Regulatory Spaces, in 777-800 Oxford Handbook of Transnational Law (Peer Zumbansen, ed., Oxford University Press, 2021).

And an Algorithm to Entangle them All? Social Credit, Data Driven Governance, and Legal Entanglement in Post-Law Legal Orders, in Entangled Legalities Beyond the State (Nico Kirsch, ed., Cambridge forthcoming 2020).

Foreword: Bannermen and Heralds: The Identity of Flags; the Ensigns of Identity, in Flags, Identity, Memory: Critiquing the Public Narrative through Color (Anne Wagner and Sarah Marusek, eds., Dordrecht: Springer forthcoming 2020).

‘By Dred Things I am Compelled’: China and the Challenge to Conventional  of International Human Rights Law, in Tipping Points in International Law: Critique and Commitment (John Haskell and Jean d’Aspremont, eds., Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2020).

The Cri de Jessup Sixty Years Later: Transnational Law’s Intangible Objects and Abstracted Frameworks Beyond Nation, Enterprise, and Law, in Jessup’s Bold Proposal: Critical Engagements with Transnational Law 386-418 (Peer Zumbansen (ed.), Cambridge UP, 2020) (ISBN: 9781108490269).

La debida diligencia en las universidades, in Retos y Desafíos de las Empresas y los Derechos Humanos (Carolina Olarte-Báceres, Catalina Irisarri Boada y Laura Arenas Peralta, eds.; Bogotá: Pontificia Universidad Javeriana y Grupo Editorial Ibañez) (ISBN 978-958-749-000-0).

From the Social to the Human Rights of Labor: Reflections on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Art. 23, the ILO, and Working Rights Principles, in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: A Commentary  (Humberto Cantú Rivera (ed.), Brill/Nijhoff, 2019 (forthcoming).

Human Rights Responsibilities of State-Owned Enterprises, in Research Handbook on Human Rights and Business 221-242 (Surya Deva and David Birchall (eds.), Edward Elgar, 2020) (ISBN: 978 1 78643 639 9; eISBN: 978 1 78643 640 5).

The Problem of the Enterprise and the Enterprise of Law: Multinational Enterprises as Polycentric Transnational Regulatory Spaces, in Oxford Handbook of Transnational Law (Peer Zumbansen (ed.), Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2019).

Reintegrating Cuba into the Global Economy: Stasis and the European Alternative, in The Cuba-U.S. Bilateral Relationship: New Pathways & Policy Choices (Michael J. Kelly, Erika Moreno, and  Richard C. Witmer, eds., Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2019).

Unpacking Accountability in Business and Human Rights: The Multinational Enterprise, the State, and the International Community, in Accountability and International Business Organizations: Providing Justice for Corporate Violations of Human Rights, Labor, and Environmental Standards 60-85 (Liesbeth Enneking, et al., eds. Routledge, 2020).   

From Guiding Principles to Interpretive Organizations: Developing a Framework for Applying the UNGPs to Disputes that Institutionalizes the Advocacy Role of Civil Society, in Business and Human Rights: Beyond the End of the Beginning 97-110 (César Rodríguez Garavito, ed., Cambridge University Press, 2017) ISBN978-1-107-17529-7.

Principled Pragmatism in the Elaboration of a Comprehensive Treaty on Business and Human Rights, in Building a Treaty on Business and Human Rights: Context and Contours 105-130 (Surya Deva and David Bilchitz, eds., Cambridge University Press, 2017). ISBN978-1-107-19911-8 (hrbk).

Considering a Treaty on Corporations and Human Rights: Mostly Failures but With a Glimmer of Success, in Treaty or Not? Perspectives on the Proposed UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights (Nicolás Carillo-Santarelli and Jernej Letnar Cernic, eds., Intersentia, forthcoming 2017).

The Evolving Relationship Between TNCs and Political Actors and Governments, in Research Handbook on Transnational Corporations 82-116 (Alice de Jonge and Roman Tomasic, eds., Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017). ISBN: 978 1 78347 690 9.

The Concept of Constitutionalization and the Multi-Corporate Enterprise in the 21st Century: From Body Corporate to Sovereign Enterprise in Multinationals and the Constitutionalization of the World Power System (Jean-Philippe Robé, Antoine Lyon-Caen, and Stéphane Vernac, eds., Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group), 2016) ISBN: 978-1-4724-8292-1 (hbk); ISBN: 978-1-315-596334 (ebk).

The Cuban Communist Party at the Cusp of Change in Reforming Communism: Cuba in a Comparative Perspective 157-191 (Scott Morgenstern and Jorge Pérez López, eds. University of Pittsburgh Press, 2018). ISBN 978-0-8229-6549-7.

The Role of Companies in Privatizing Socio-Economic Rights in India and China Under Emerging Global Regulatory Frameworks, in Socio-Economic Rights in Emerging Free Markets: Comparative Insights from India and China (Surya Deva (ed.), London: Routledge, 2016). ISBN 978-0-415-73507-0

Philanthropy and the Character of the Public Research University—The Intersections of Private Giving, Institutional Autonomy, and Shared Governance in Facilitating Higher Education Growth through Fundraising and Philanthropy 28-58 (H. C. Alphin Jr., J. Lavine, S. E. Stark & A.Hocke, eds., Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2016) (with Nabih Haddad) ISBN13: 9781466696648.

Regulating Global Markets: What we Might Learn From Sovereign Wealth Funds, in Reshaping Markets: Economic Governance, The Global Financial Crisis, and Liberal Utopia (Bertram Lomfield, Alessandro Somma and Peer Zumbansen, eds., Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2015).)

Governance Polycentrism or Regulated Self-Regulation—Rule Systems for Human Rights Impacts of Economic Activity Where National, Private and International Regimes Collide, Contested Collisions: Interdisciplinary Inquiries into Norm Fragmentation in World Society 198-225 (Kerstin Blome, Hannah Franzki, Andreas Fischer-Lescano, Nora Markard and Stefan Oeter, eds., Cambridge University Press, 2016). ISBN 978-1-107-12657-2.

China’s Corporate Social Responsibility With National Characteristics: Coherence and Dissonance With the Global Business and Human Rights Project, in Human Rights and Business:  Moving Forward, Looking Back 530-558 (Jena Martin and Karen Erica Bravo, eds., Cambridge University Press, 2015). ISBN 9781107095526

Transparency and Business in International Law, in Transparency in International Law 477-501 (Anne Peters and Andrea Bianchi, eds., Cambridge:  Cambridge University Press, 2013). ISBN 978-1-107-02138-9

Governance Without Government:  An Overview, in Beyond Territoriality:  Transnational Legal Authority in an Age of Globalization 87-123 (Günther Handl, Joachim Zekoll, Peer Zumbansen, editors, Leiden, Netherlands & Boston, MA: Martinus Nijhoff, 2012). ISBN 978-90-04-18647-7

共產黨與中國式的憲政體制— 一黨專政下的憲政發展理論，in 百年宪政与中国宪政的未来 (百年憲政與中國憲政的未來)（Communist Party and Chinese-style constitutional system – the one-party dictatorship under the theory of constitutional development), in Constitutionalism in China in the Last 100 Years and Its Future (in Chinese)), (第九章 –Chapter 9)  (LIN Feng, ed., 香港城市大学出版社 (Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong Press, 2011) (ISBN 978-962-937-177-7).

Inter-Systemic Harmonization and Its Challenges for the Legal-State, in The Law of the Future and the Future of Law (HiiL Law of the Future Series, The Law of the Future and the Future of Law, Sam Muller, Stavros Zouridis, Laura Kistemaker and Morly Frishman, eds., The Hague, Netherlands: Torkel Opsahi Academic Editor, 2011).

From Colonies to Collective:  ALBA, Latin American Integration, and the Construction of Regional Political Power,  Handbook on Diplomacy and Statecraft 325-337 (B.J.C. McKercher, ed., London:  Taylor & Francis/Routledge, 2011) (ISBN 978-0-415-78110-7).

1. Published and Forthcoming Journal Articles (selected):

The Imaginaries of Regulatory Spaces in an Age of Administrative Discretion: Social Credit ‘in’ or ‘as’ the Cage of Regulation of Socialist Legality, The China Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal on Greater China 24:— (Special Issue; forthcoming 2023)

The algorithmic law of business and human rights: constructing private transnational law of ratings, social credit and accountability measures, 18(4) International Journal of Law in Context 1-21 (2022; Special Issue) with Matthew B. McQuilla.

Robert Cover and International Law—Narrative Nudges and Nomadic Nomos, 37(4) Touro Law Review 2315-2364 (2022).

‘Lawyers are not algorithms: Sustainability, corruption, and the role of the lawyer in institutional frameworks and corporate transactions‘, 23 Legal Ethics — (2021) DOI: 10.1080/1460728x.2021.1979728.

The Semiotics of Consent and the American Law Institute’s Reform of the Model Penal Code’s Sexual Assault Provisions, 1(1) Undecidabilities and the Law: Coimbra Journal of Legal Studies 49-83 (2021).

Popular Participation in the Constitution of the Illiberal State—An Empirical Study of Popular Engagement  and Constitutional Reform in Cuba and the Contours of Cuban Socialist Democracy 2.0, 34(1) Emory International Law Review 183-276 (2020) (with Flora Sapio, and James Korman).

Popular Consultation and Referendum in the Making of Contemporary Cuban Socialist Democracy Practice and Constitutional Theory, 27(1) International Law Review 37-130 (2019)(with Flora Sapio).

Next Generation Law: Data Driven Governance and Accountability Based Regulatory Systems in the West, and Social Credit Regimes in China, 28(1) USC Interdisciplinary Law Journal 123-172 (2018).

Chinese Strategies to Combat Corporate Corruption: From a “Two Thrust Approach” to a “Two Swords One Thrust Strategy” of Compliance, Prosecutorial Discretion, and Sovereign Investor Oversight in China, 52(1) International Lawyer 1-45 (2019).

Chinese Constitutionalism in the ‘New Era’: The Emerging Idea and Practice of Constitution in the Wake of Xi Jinping’s Report to the 19^th Chinese Communist Party, 33(1) Connecticut Journal of International Law 33(2):163-213 (2018).   

测度、评估和奖励：中国和西方建立社会信用体系的挑战？(Cutting-edge measures, assessments, and rewards: The challenge of establishing a social credit system in China and the West?), “互联网金融法律评论（jiflsjtu）”微信公众平台。前沿栏目·第三季第21篇（总第182篇）.  (Shanghai Jiaotong University  “Internet Financial Law Review (jiflsjtu).

Theorizing Regulatory Governance Within its Ecology: The Structure of Management in an Age of Globalization, 24(5) Contemporary Politics 607-630 (Special Issue 2018).

西方反腐领域新举措，从“各自为政“到“一股合力“  58(2) 吉林大学社会科学学报 — [Sword One Thrust Strategy” to Combat Criminal Corruption: Corporate Compliance, Prosecutorial Discretion, and Sovereign Investor Oversight,  Jilin University Journal of Social Science](forthcoming 2018).

Between the Judge and the Law—Judicial Independence and Authority with Chinese Characteristics, 33(1) Connecticut Journal of International Law 1-41 (2017).

Sovereign Wealth Funds, Capacity Building, Development, and Governance, 52(4) Wake Forest Law Review 735-780 (2017).

The Human Rights Obligations of State-Owned Enterprises: Emerging Conceptual Structures and Principles in National and International Law and Policy, 50(4) Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 827-888 (2017).

The Corporate Social Responsibilities of Financial Institutions for the Conduct of their Borrowers: The View from International Law and Standards, 21 Lewis & Clark Law Review 881-920 (72017).

通过集体组织的社会主义现代化评《中华人民共和国慈善法》《中国非营利评论》，第19卷，社会科学文献出版社2017年版，第35—59页” [Commentary on the New Charity Undertakings Law: Socialist Modernization Through Collective Organizations, 19 China Nonprofit Review”, 35-59 (Beijing, China: Social Science Literature Publishing House 2017)]. English language version published as Commentary on the New Charity Undertakings Law: Socialist Modernization Through Collective Organizations, 9(2) The China Nonprofit Review 273-309 (2017).

Shaping a Global Law for Business Enterprises: Framing Principles and the Promise of a Comprehensive Treaty on Business and Human Rights, 42(2) North Carolina Journal of International Law 417-504 (2016).

A Lex Mercatoria for Corporate Social Responsibility Codes without the State?: A Critique of Legalization Within the State Under the Premises of Globalization, 24(1) Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies 115-146 (2017).

Central Planning Versus Markets Marxism: Their Differences and Consequences for the International Ordering of State, Law, Politics, and Economy, 32(1) Connecticut Journal of International Law 1-47 (2016).

The Emerging Normative Structures of Transnational Law: Non-State Enterprises in Polycentric Asymmetric Global Orders, Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law 31(1):1-52 (2016).

Corporate Social Responsibility in Weak Governance Zones, 14(1) Santa Clara Journal of International Law 297-332 (2016).

Are Supply Chains Transnational Legal Orders?: What We Can Learn From the Rana Plaza Factory Building Collapse, 1(1) University of California Irvine Journal of International, Transnational, and Comparative Law 11-66 (2016).

Fractured Territories and Abstracted Terrains: The Problem of Representation and Human Rights Governance Regimes Within and Beyond the State, 23 Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies 23(1):61-94 (2016).

Regulating Multinational Corporations — Trends, Challenges and Opportunities, 22(1) Brown Journal of World Affairs 153-173 (Fall/Winter 2015).

The Cuban Communist Party at the Center of Political and Economic Reform: Current Status and Future Reform, Northwestern Interdisciplinary Law Review 8:71-129 (2015) (现状和未来: 对比中国共产党的发展，聚焦政经改革中心的古巴共产党).

Moving Forward The U.N. Guiding Principles For Business And Human Rights: Between Enterprise Social Norm, State Domestic Legal Orders, and the Treaty Law that Might Bind them All, 38(2) Fordham International Law Journal 457-542 (2015).

International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and Sovereign Wealth Funds—SWFs as Instruments to Combat Corruption and Enhance Fiscal Discipline in Developing States, 2014(4) International Review of Law — (Qatar University) (forthcoming 2015).

Crafting a Theory of Socialist Democracy for China in the 21^st Century: Considering Hu Angang’s Theory of Collective Presidency in the Context of the Emerging Chinese Constitutional State, 16(1) Asian-Pacific Law and Policy Journal 29-82 (2014). Chinese language version为21世纪的中国设计社会主义民主理论：中国宪政国家兴起语境下对胡鞍钢“集体领导制”理论的思考， Tsinghua University Journal (forthcoming 2015)

The Crisis of Secular Liberalism and the Constitutional State in Comparative Perspective: Religion, Rule of Law, and Democratic Organization of Religion Privileging States, 48 Cornell International Law Journal – (forthcoming 2015).

The Emerging Structures of Socialist Constitutionalism With Chinese Characteristics: Extra-Judicial Detention (Laojiao and Shuanggui) and the Chinese Constitutional Order, 23 Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal 251–341 (2014) (With Keren Wang). Chinese language version白 轲 王可任 著 ,  依宪治国与从严治党格局下党内反腐惩戒制度的法治考察 , 中国法律评论  China Law Review 207-234 (2015 年第 4 期(总第 8 期)).

Towards a Robust Theory of the Chinese Constitutional State: Between Formalism and Legitimacy in Jiang Shigong’s Constitutionalism. 40(2) Modern China 168-195 (2014).

Sovereign Investing and Markets-Based Transnational Rule of Law Building: The Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund in Global Markets, 29 American University International Law Review 1-122 (2013).

The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Japan, China, the U.S. and the Emerging Shape of a New World Trade Regulatory Order, 13(1) Washington University Global Studies Law Review 49-81 (2014).

Realizing Socio-Economic Rights Under Emerging Global Regulatory Frameworks:  The Potential Impact of Privatization and the Role of Companies in China and India, 45(4) The George Washington International Law Review 615-680 (2013).

The Cooperative as Proletarian Corporation: Property Rights Between Corporation, Cooperatives And Globalization In Cuba” in 33 Northwestern Journal of International Law and Business 527-618 (2013).

Transnational Corporations’ Outward Expression of Inward Self-Constitution: The Enforcement of Human Rights by Apple, Inc.,, 20(2) Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies 805-879  (2013).

Transparency Between Norm, Technique and Property in International Law and Governance—The Example of Corporate Disclosure Regimes and Environmental Impacts, 22 Minnesota Journal of International Law 1-70 (2013).

The Structural Characteristics of Global Law for the 21st Century: Fracture, Fluidity, Permeability, and Polycentricity, 17(2) Tilburg Law Review 177-199 (2012).

Party, People, Government, and State: On Constitutional Values and the Legitimacy of the Chinese State-Party Rule of Law System, 30(1) Boston University International Law Journal 331-408 (2012).

From Institutional Misalignments to Socially Sustainable Governance:  The Guiding Principles for the Implementation of the United Nation’s “Protect, Respect and Remedy” and the Construction of Inter-Systemic Global Governance, 25(1) Pacific McGeorge Global Business & Development Law Journal 69-171 (2012).

Private Actors and Public Governance Beyond the State:  The Multinational Corporation, the Financial Stability Board and the Global Governance Order, 18(2) Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies 751 (2011).

Symposium Issue: A Constitutional Court for China Within the Chinese Communist Party?: Scientific Development and a Reconsideration of the Institutional Role of the CCP, 43(3) Suffolk Law Review 593 (2010).

Cuba And the Construction Of Alternative Global Trade Systems: ALBA And Free Trade In The Americas, 31(3) University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law 679 (2010) (with Augusto Molina Roman).

Sovereign Wealth Funds as Regulatory Chameleons: The Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Funds and Public Global Governance Through Private Global Investment, 41(2) Georgetown Journal of International Law 425 (2010).

Sovereign Investing in Times of Crisis: Global Regulation of Sovereign Wealth Funds, State Owned Enterprises and the Chinese Experience, 19(1) Transnational Law & Contemporary Problems 3 (2010).

Case Note: Rights And Accountability In Development (Raid) v Das Air (21
July 2008) And Global Witness v Afrimex (28 August 2008); Small Steps Toward an Autonomous Transnational Legal System for the Regulation of Multinational Corporations, 10(1) Melbourne Journal of International Law 258 (2009).

From Constitution to Constitutionalism: A Global Framework for Legitimate Public Power Systems, 113(3) Penn State Law Review 671 (2009).

Theocratic Constitutionalism:  An Introduction to a New Legal Global Ordering, 16(1) Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies 85 (2009).

From Hatuey to Che: Indigenous Cuba Without Indians and the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 33(1) American Indian Law Review 201-238 (2008-2009).

The Private Law of Public Law:  Public Authorities As Shareholders, Golden Shares, Sovereign Wealth Funds, And The Public Law Element In Private Choice of Law, 82(5) Tulane Law Review 1801 (2008).

From Moral Obligation to International Law: Disclosure Systems, Markets and the Regulation of Multinational Corporations, 39 Georgetown Journal of International Law 591 (2008).

God(s) Over Constitutions: International and Religious Transnational Constitutionalism in the 21^st Century, 27 Mississippi College Law Review 11 (2008).

Multinational Corporations as Objects and Sources of Transnational Regulation, 14 ILSA Journal Of International & Comparative Law 499 (2008).

Odious Debt Wears Two Faces: Systemic Illegitimacy, Problems and Opportunities in Traditional Odious Debt Conceptions in Globalized Economic Regimes, 70 Duke Journal of Law & Contemporary Problems 1 (2007).

Economic Globalization and the Rise of Efficient Systems of Global Private Law Making:  Wal-Mart as Global Legislator,  39(4) University of  Connecticut Law Review 1739 (2007).

The Rule of Law, The Chinese Communist Party, and Ideological Campaigns:  Sange Daibiao (the “Three Represents”), Socialist Rule of Law, and Modern Chinese Constitutionalism, 16(1) Transnational Law & Contemporary Problems 29 (2006).

Multinational Corporations, Transnational Law: The United Nation’s Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations as a Harbinger of Corporate Social Responsibility as International Law, 37 Columbia Human Rights Law Review 287 (2006).

Economic Globalization Ascendant:  Four Perspectives on the Emerging Ideology of the State in the New Global Order, 17(1) Berkeley La Raza Law Journal 141 (2006).  Published as Globalização Econômica e Crise do Estado: um estudo em quatro perspectives, Sequencia No. 51: 255-276 (December 2005).

Emasculated Men, Effeminate Law in the United States, Zimbabwe and Malaysia, 17 Yale Journal of Law & Feminism 1 (2005).

Surveillance and Control: Internal, External and Governmental Monitoring of Corporate Insiders After Sarbanes-Oxley, 2004 Michigan State Law Review 327.

Retaining Judicial Authority: A Preliminary Inquiry on the Dominion of Judges, 12 William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal 117 (2003).

The Führer Principle of International Law: Individual Responsibility and Collective Punishment, 21 Penn State International Law Review 509 (2003).

Chroniclers in the Field of Cultural Production: Interpretive Conversations Between Courts and Culture, 20 Boston College Third World Law Journal 291 (2000).

Religion as Object and the Grammar of Law, 81 Marquette  Law Review 229 (1998).

Inventing a ‘Homosexual’ for Constitutional Theory: Sodomy Narrative and Antipathy in U.S. and British Courts, 71 Tulane Law Review 529 (1996).

Welfare Reform at the Limit: An Essay on the Futility of ‘Ending Welfare as We Know It,’ 30 Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review 339 (1995).

1. Published Book Reviews (selected):

强世功教授对“不成文宪法”以及中国宪政秩序的研究， Nomos (Peking University Center for Studies in Politics and Law) Jan. 30. 2013, available http://www.pkujuris.com/xrzl/researcher/1/2013-01-30/300.html.

The Drama Of Corporate Law:  Corporate Narrative Between Policy And Law, 2009 Michigan State Law Review 1111 (Reviewing David A. (Bert) Westbrook, Between Citizen And State: An Introduction To The Corporation. Boulder, Co, Paradigm Press 2007. + 176 Pp. Hardback ISBN-13  978-1594514043).

The Many Faces of Hegemony: Patriarchy and Welfare as a Women’s Issue, 92 Northwestern University Law Review 327 (1997) (reviewing Mimi Abramovitz, Under Attack, Fighting Back: Women and Welfare Reform in  the United States (1996)).

1. E-Essays and Other Publications (selected since 2014):

E-Essays:  Law at the End of the Day; http://www.lcbackerblog.blogspot.com.

Emancipating the Mind in the New Era: Bulletin of the Coalition for Peace & Ethics 16(1) (Summer 2021) Essays on Contemporary China–Heartland, Periphery, and Silk Roads (Issue editor and author) (ISSN 2689-0283 ((print); 2689-0291 (online); ISBN 978-1-949943-06-1 (online digital); 978-1-949943-07-8 (paperback)).

“How to Become a Full Time Law Professor” — Transcript of Remarks Delivered at the Panel Session, Panel 4G: How to Become a Full-Time Law Professor –A Workshop for Aspirants, 4th National People of Color Scholarship Conference, Journal of Legal Education 29:– (forthcoming 2020). Prepublication draft Available HERE.

Emancipating the Mind in the New Era: Bulletin of the Coalition for Peace & Ethics 15(1) (Spring 2020) (Theme: “Evolutions Converging? Human Rights Internationalism and the Chinese Political-Economic Model from Reform and Opening Up to New Era Thought”) (ISSN 2689-0283 ((print); 2689-0291 (online)):

Introduction: Evolutions Converging? Human Rights Internationalism and the Chinese Political-Economic Model from Reform and Opening Up to New Era Thought  15(1):1-4 (with Flora Sapio) (View HERE).

The Weak Underbelly of Business and Human Rights: Reflections on the 8th U.N. Forum on Business and Human Rights 15(1): 11-50 (View HERE) .

“Peaches and Plums do not Speak, but they are so Attractive that a Path is Formed Below the trees” [桃李不言，下自成蹊]: China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights; Remarks Delivered at the 8th United Nations Forum for Business and Human Rights (26 November 2019) 15(1):51-64 (View HERE).

Introduction : From the “Song of the Young Phoenix on the Tong Tree” to the “Peng Bird Riding High and Flying for Nine Thousand Li”: Toward New Era Thought From Reform and Opening Up 15(1):65-70 (with Flora Sapio) (View HERE).

Toward New Era Thought: Reflections on Xi Jinping, Speech at the Meeting Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Reform and Opening Up 15(1):121-144 (View HERE).

“How to Become a Full Time Law Professor” — Transcript of Remarks Delivered at the Panel Session, Panel 4G: How to Become a Full-Time Law Professor –A Workshop for Aspirants, 4th National People of Color Scholarship Conference, Journal of Legal Education 29:– (forthcoming 2020). Prepublication draft Available HERE.

Emancipating the Mind: Bulletin of the Coalition for Peace & Ethics (Larry Catá Backer and Flora Sapio, eds. And essays) 14(2) (Fall 2019) (Theme: “Commentary on the U.N. Inter-Governmental Working Group (Geneva) 2019 Draft “Legally Binding Instrument to Regulate, in International Human Rights Law, The Activities of Corporations and Other Business Enterprises”) (ISSN 2689-0283 ((print); 2689-0291 (online)):

Introduction: CPE-Treaty Project Working Group; Framing An Analysis of the 2019 Draft Legally Binding Instrument 14(2):153-162 (with Flora Sapio) (View HERE).

Preamble; Analysis of Principles, Context, and Textual Analysis 14(2):169-178 (View HERE).

On the Victimization of International Law and the Ethos of the Treaty Project in Article 1 14(2):191-195 (with Comments of Flora Sapio 14(2):196-198 (View HERE).

Textual Analysis of the Definitions in Article 1 14(2):199-208 (View HERE).

Textual Analysis of Article 2 14(2):211-216 (View Here).

Textual Analysis of Article 3 in the Shadow of the Zero Draft 14(2):221-226 (View HERE).

Article 4: General Analysis of Framework and Structure 14(2):229-236 (View HERE).

Flavors of the Month Rarely Outlast their Novelty: A Close Examination of Article 4 and the Construction of the Victim as a Legal Category 14(2):245-254 (View HERE).

Article 5: A Partial Legalization of the UN Guiding Principles Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights Pillar—Textual and Conceptual Analysis 14(2):255-260 (View HERE).

Article 6: A Conceptual Analysis of the Conundrums of Legal Liability 14(2):265-276 (View HERE).

Articles 7-9: The Substantive Consequences of Boilerplate, a Textual Analysis 14(2):277-284 (View HERE).

Article 10 (Mutual Legal Assistance): Smoke and Mirrors? 14(2):285-290 (View HERE).

Articles 11 (International Cooperation) and 12 (Consistency with International Law) With a Nod to Article 16 (Dispute Resolution): Technical Provisions With Normative Punch 14(2):299-304 (View HERE).

The Devil is in the Implementation: Article 14 as a Mirror Reflecting the Strength of Vision and Challenges of Realization of the Draft LBI 14(2):305-310 (View HERE).

CPE-Treaty Project Working Group (Larry Catá Backer and Flora Sapio), Going Forward and Looking Back; On the Focus and Utility of this Commentary 14(2):313-316 (View HERE).

Emancipating the Mind: Bulletin of the Coalition for Peace & Ethics (Larry Catá Backer and Flora Sapio, eds., and essays) 14(1) (Spring 2019) (Theme: “From Globalization to Empire: Essays from the CPE Working Group on Empire”) (ISSN 2689-0283 ((print); 2689-0291 (online)):

CPE-Working Group on Empire, Foreword: In the Shadow of Empires—Latin American Perceptions of Development and International Law 14(1):1-6. (With Flora Sapio) (View HERE).

CPE-Working Group on Empire, U.S.-China Trade Talks, Encircling the United States, and the Belt and Road Initiative—Looking to a Critical Gloss on Xi Jinping’s Speeches to the BRI Conference 14(1):9-22 (with Flora Sapio) (View HERE).

A Critical Gloss on ‘China is watching Western democracy Eat Itself’ 14(1):11-18 View HERE).

CPE-Working Group on Empire, A Brief Introduction to Xi Jinping’s Speech 齐心开创共建“一带一路”美好未来 [Working Together to Deliver a Brighter Future For Belt and Road Cooperation]—U.S.-China Trade Talks, Encircling the US, and the BRI 14(1):23-32 (with Flora Sapio) (View HERE).

A Critical Gloss on Xi Jinping, 齐心开创共建“一带一路”美好未来 [Working Together to Deliver a Brighter Future For Belt and Road Cooperation] In the Shadow of the U.S.-China Trade Talks  14(1):33-46 (View HERE).

CPE-Working Group on Empire, “A Critical Reading of China’s State Council White Paper 关于中美经贸磋商的中方立场 [China’s Position on the China-US Economic and Trade Consultations” 14(1):47-118 (with Flora Sapio) View HERE].

A Thoughtful Exposition of the Chinese Position in the Current Conversation Between China and the US.:《美国陷阱》揭露了一个骇人听闻的霸凌主义案例 [The ‘American Trap’ Exposes a Shocking Case of Hegemonism]”14(1):139-148 (View HERE).

The University in the Age of the Learning Factory: Dueling narratives in the culture war around higher education, Academe (AAUP) (Nov/Dec. 2017). Available https://www.aaup.org/article/university-age-learning-factory#.WlJyQ0tG1sO.

Closing Remarks: International Conference New International Trade and Investment Rules Between Globalization and Anti-Globalization, Pennsylvania State University April 21, 2017, Journal of Shanghai Business School (forthcoming 2018).

Embracing a 21st Century Planning Marxism Model: The Cuban Communist Party Confronts Crisis, Challenge and Change in its 7th Congress, in Papers and Proceedings of the Twenty-Sixth Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy (ASCE) 26:188-208 (2016) (ISBN 978-0-9831360-6-4). Available http://www.ascecuba.org/c/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/backerpaper.pdf.

Commentary on Michael Strauss’s Essay: “Returning Guantanamo Bay to Cuban Control”, in Papers and Proceedings of the Twenty-Sixth Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy (ASCE) 26:74-81 (2016) (ISBN 978-0-9831360-6-4). Available http://www.ascecuba.org/c/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/backercmts.pdf.

拉瑞·巴克尔：美国政党政治的“去政治化”，Guancha, Jan. 14, 2014: Available http://www.guancha.cn/Larry-Backer/2014_01_19_200652.shtml.

The Military, Ideological Frameworks and Familial Marxism: A Comment on Jung-Chul Lee, “A Lesson From Cuba’s Party-Military Relations and a Tale of “Two Front Lines” in North Korea, in Papers and Proceedings of the Twenty-fifth Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy (ASCE) 25:165-171 (2015) (ISBN 978-0-9831360-5-7). Available http://www.ascecuba.org/c/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/v25-backercomments.pdf.

Global Corporate Social Responsibility(GCSR) Standards With Cuban Characteristics: What Normalization Means for Transnational Enterprise Activity in Cuba, in Papers and Proceedings of the Twenty-fifth Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy (ASCE) 25:234-247 (2015) (ISBN 978-0-9831360-5-7). Available http://www.ascecuba.org/c/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/v25-backer.pdf.

The Cuban Communist Party and the Future of Course of Ideological Reform in Cuba, in Papers and Proceedings of the Twenty-fourth Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy (ASCE) 24:72-88 (2014). Available http://www.ascecuba.org/c/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/v24-backer.pdf.

Academic Presentations (selected since 2017):

“Inside the Cage of the System (制度的笼子里): Standards Setting, National Security Values, Tech Platforms, Regulation, and the Central Contradiction of Legality in the Current Historical Era;” Remarks delivered at the Workshop-Conference–Technological Platforms and National Security in Hong Kong: The Domain of Standards Setting; sponsored by the HKU Law and Technology Center and the Center for Chinese Law; University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, 25 August 2023. ACCESS HERE: Backer_Remarks_PPT8-2023 ; text of Remarks here: Technological Platforms and National Security in Hong Kong

“Social Listening and Infodemic—An Epidemiology for the Body Politic,” PPT for Remarks delivered at Conference: Governance of Social Listening in the Context of Serious Health Threats; University of Hong Kong; Hong Kong SAR, 22 August 2023. ACCESS HERE:  Backer_Social_Listening_UHK8-2023; text of Remarks here: Backer_Remarks_Social_Listening_Conference8-2023

“Whole Process Democracy” as Applied Constitutionalism.” Presentation at the City University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law, Public Law and Human Rights Forum, Hong Kong SAR, 7 June 2023. ACCESS PPT HERE: Backer_WholeProcessDemocracy_CityUHK-7June2023

“The Semiotics of Democracy and Ideologies of Meaning in Constitutional Orders,” presentation for the Wagner-Linares Workshop, 23rd International Roundtables for the Semiotics of Law, Pontificia Università Antonianum, Rome, Italy 24 May 2023. ACCESS PPT here: Backer_Semiotics_Democracy_IASL_2023;   ACCESS Abstract HERE:The Semiotics of Democracy and Ideologies of Meaning in Constitutional Orders

“The UNGP’s 2nd Pillar as Soft Public and Harder Private Law,” presentation made at the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, Berlin, Germany (20 March 2023). Access PPT here: Backer_ECCHR Presentation_Berlin3-2023

“Chinese State-Owned Companies: Congruence and Dissonance in Outbound Investment; the Americas and Europe,” presentation at the Oxford China Law Center, 16 February 2023. ACCESS PPT HERE: Backer_China_SOEs_2-2023.

“Russo-Ukraine War; China’s Rise; the Absent U.S., and the Future of the International Order”: PPT of Informal Remarks Delivered at the ΠΣA National Political Science Honor Society Speaker Series; Pennsylvania State University, 10 November 2022. Access PPT here.

“From 11 July 2021 to Hurricane Ian in 2022: The Transformation of Mass Protests in Cuba and its Consequences.” Remarks delivered for the Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs Fall Speaker Series; Penn State University, State College PA, 25 October 2022. ACCESS PPT HERE: Protests_Cuba

“Brief Reflections on the Building of a Theory and Practice of Community with a Shared Future for Mankind and Global Human Rights Governance” [建立具有人类共同未来的社区理论和实践以及全球人权治理的简要思考]; Remarks presented at a side event on the occasion of the 51st Session of the Human Rights Council. That side event, entitled “Human Rights Development in the Perspective of Community with Shared Future for Mankind” was hosted by the China Society for Human Rights Studies and organized by Shandong University.  29 September 2022, Geneva, Switzerland. ACCESS (English and Chinese versions) HERE: Backer HumanRights as Development

“Linking People to Governing Institutions: 《中国新型政党制度》 (China‘s New Political Party System), 全过程民主 (Whole Process Democracy), and Leninist Political Parties Within  Socialist Constitutional Democracy,” Presentation prepared for Workshop: Political Parties and Constitutions in Asia; St Hughes College, Oxford University, Oxford, UK (23 Sept 2022). ACCESS PPT HERE: Backer_WholeProcessDemocracy(9-2022); PAPER ACCESS HERE

“The Imaginaries of Regulatory Spaces in an Age of Administrative Discretion: Social Credit ‘in’ or ‘as’ the Cage of Regulation of Socialist Legality.” Hybrid Workshop: Law and Social Credit in China; University of Cologne; 19 September 2022, Cologne, Germany.  Also presented at the Annual Conference of the European China Law Studies Association Meeting, Copenhagen, Denmark (22 September 2022). Also presented at the Annual Meeting of the ASC (Arbeitskreis sozialwissenschaftliche Chinaforschung (Social Science Research on China)), University of Vienna, Austria, 4 November 2022.  ACCESS HERE: BAcker_SCS_Cage_Regulation_9-2022

“The in/exclusiveness of law soft law instruments in international business and human rights (IBHR): Form and Function in the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights and the Framework Principles on Human Rights and the Environment.” IBHR IG Workshop. (IN/EX-clusiveness through the lens of International Business and Human Rights). Annual Conference of the European Society of International Law. Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands (1 September 2022).

“Social Credit in the Shadow of 全过程民主 (Whole Process Democracy), Socialist Consultative Democracy, and 《中国新型政党制度》 (China’s New Political Party System).” Presentation to the Social Credit Research Group, European China Law Hub (18 July 2022; virtual).

“Hong Kong Between Sovereignties, Autonomies, and Self-Determination.” Panels on: Law, Resistance, & Authoritarianism; Jointly Sponsored by CRN01, ALSA, CRN33, & IRC. Rage, Reckoning & Remedy: 7th Global Meeting on Law & Society. Lisbon, Portugal, 15 July 2022.

“Facilitating the Energy Transition: A Human Right and Soft Law Perspective.” 2^nd Energy Transition Colloquium. Organized by the Rockefeller School of Policy and Politics, Department of Public Administration of West Virginia University, USA  (virtual) 16 June 2022.

“Rethinking Climate Change from the perspective of the 2018 proposal for a “Framework principles on human rights and the environment” (A/HRC/37/59).” Seminario International: La lucha en clave judicial frente al cambio climaático (Francisco Javier Zamora Cabot, Lorena Sales Pallarés, and Maria Chiara Marullo (organizers) Universitat Jaume I, Castelló de la Plana, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain5 de Mayo 2022. ACCESS HERE:Backer_Seminario_Cambio Climatico2022

“Governing Platforms: Structural and Conceptual Challenges.” Prepared for Conference on Digital Platforms and Global Law organized by UNIDROIT, Roma Tre and the European Law Institute, Rome, Italy 29 April 2022. ACCESS HERE:Backer_GoverningPlatforms_UNIDROIT2022

“The business response to the Russo-Ukraine War.”  Expert Panel on Ukraine-Russia Conflict’s Impact on International Business. Sponsored by the Penn State Smeal College of Business Center for Global Business Studies. University Park, PA (23 March 2022).

“‘The Flower of Democracy Blooms Brilliantly in China’ [中国的民主之花绚丽绽放]: The Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese Constitutional Order “ Workshop: “Constitutional Law of Greater China” Organized by Ngoc Son Bui and the Oxford Programme in Asian Laws (Virtual; 9-10 December 2021) paper here; PPT here.

“The Algorithmic Law of Business and Human Rights: Constructing a Private Transnational Law of Ratings, Social Credit, and Accountability Measures.” Algorithmic Law and Society Symposium, HEC Paris & Ecole Polytechnique, Paris; France 2 December 2021. PPT here. Draft here .

“Robert Cover and International Law–Narrative Nudges and Nomadic Nomos.” Conference: presentation for panel on The Life and Work of Robert M. Cover, panel on Nomos and Jurisgenesis in International Law and Society, Touro Law Center,  4-5 October 2021 (available HERE).

“Conceptualizing the Emerging Structures of Transnational Governance in the Age of Sovereignty — The Hong Kong SAR 2019-2020,” for panel: “New Actors and Dynamics in Transnational Law: Moving Borders and Changing Concepts of Borders, Demos and Territory” at the 15th Annual Conference of the European China Law Studies Association, University of Warsaw (26 September 2021) (Virtual).HK_Sovereignty_ECLSA2021_Meeting

“SOEs as Investors and Human Rights – Chinese FDI in Latin America and Europe;” for Book Project Workshop: Human Rights and environmental sustainability in state-owned enterprises in Latin America and Europe; Santiago, Chile, (21 September 2021) (Virtual).ChineseSOEsHumanRightsLatinAmerica9-2021

“The EU to the Rescue of the Cuban Economy? the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA) and the State of Cuba-EU Economic Relations.” Panel on Cuba’s External Relations. Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy Virtual Conference (“Theme: Caught in a Perfect Strom?: Are Havana’s Responses Sufficient?”) 4 January 2021. ACCESS PPT HERE

“Cuba’s Response to COVID-19 and the Consequences for Cuba of the Pandemic.” Panel on Cuban Economy, Cuba-Venezuela Interactions. ASSA (American Economic Association) Virtual Conference, 3 January 2021. PPT HERE: .Backer-Gonzalez_Cuba_PandemicAEA2020

“Platform Governance: Chinese Social Credit and the Reimagining of Markets in a Socialist Digital Context.” Presentation for Conference: Governance and the Emerging Technological Change in China sponsored by the Institute of East Asian Studies (In-East) and the University of Duisburg-Essen (Germany) 20 November 2020 (Virtual). PPT HERE: Backer_SocialCreditPlatforms_DuisbergEssen2020.

“El estado del litigio en materia de cambio climático en los EEUU” [The State of Climate Change Litigation in the USA]. Presentation for Conference (Virtual) I Congreso Italo-Español sobre la Lucha en clave judicial frente al cambio climático (First Italo-Spanish Congress on the Key Role of the Courts in the Fight Against Climate Change); Universitat Jaume I (Valencia, Spain) 19 November 2020.  PPT may be accessed here:  Climate_Litigation_US_2020

“COVID, Control, and Complicity in Rwanda: Human Rights Intersectionality in the Dead Spaces between Legal and Markets Regimes.” Presentation for Roundtable Sponsored by Penn State Law and School of International Affairs (21 October 2020 (Virtual)). PPT HERE: Backer_COVID_Complicity_Rwanda_PSLHuamnTightsSocirty_21October2020. Discussion Draft HERE.

“The Use of Data Driven Governance Tools to Develop Social Credit Like Systems for Business and Human Rights Issues (and Specifically Modern Slavery).”  4th Annual Fall Speaker Series Aa Penn State Law The Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (1 October 2020 12.30 – 1.30 PM Via ZOOM).

“Chinese Social Credit and Pandemic.” Panel: Case Study on Personal Data—Social Credit Scoring Models From China to Silicon Valley. Conference: 3^rd Annual Innovation and Technology Law Conference (2020 Theme:  Data Justice: Legal and Policy Issues in Data Collection, Usage, and Ownership) (Virtual Conference sponsored by Seattle University School of Law, Perkins Coie, the Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, and Innovation Law, and SITIE) 21 August 2020.

“Cuba’s Response to COVID-19 and the Consequences for Cuba of the Pandemic.” Panel: The Cuban Economy and Prospects After COVID-19. Conference: Cuba From the Castros to COVID: An ASCE Virtual Conference. 13 August 2020 online (with Yuri Gonzalez Hernandez). Access HERE.

“International Organizations and Systemic Crisis: Sketching a Response to a Problem With Multiple Solutions.” Key4biz Executive Webinar Room 451: ‘International Organizations and Systemic Crises.’  With Fabio Bassan (Roma Tre University), Larry Catà Backer (Penn State University) and Susanna Cafaro (Università of Salento). 12 June 2020 online. Video: ‘International Organizations and Systemic Crises‘.

“Belt and Road Initiative and the Future of Global Trade?” Panel: Shifting Registers in International Economic Law and Development. Conference: 2020 Annual Conference Law and Society Association; Online 29 May 2020. Access PPTs HERE: Backer_BRI_LSA_2020.

“Governance by Simulation in the Shadow of Pandemic.” Conference-Roundtable: Coronavirus and International Affairs. Organized by the Coalition for Peace & Ethics and the Research Network for Law and International Affairs, supported by Penn State School of International Affairs and Penn State Law  19 April 2020 online.

“State-Based and Data-Driven: Foreign Enterprises, Social Credit, and Next Generation Law Along Chinese Silk Roads.” Workshop presentation, Florida International University College of Law, Miami, Florida, 28 January 2020.

“Popular Participation, Affirmation, and Engagement in Cuban Marxist Leninist Constitutionalism.” Faculty Workshop.” Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia 26 September 2019.

“Sustainability and Corruption: The Role of the Lawyer in Institutional Frameworks and Corporate Transactions.” Remarks prepared for Joint Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP Business Law Forum, and the Wickwire Legal Ethics Lecture, 2019 Theme: “The ethical and professional responsibilities of business lawyers: Business, Human Rights, and the Sustainable Development Goals.” Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia 26 September 2019.

“The Fundamental Contradiction of Cuban Socialism in the “New Era”: Economic Reintegration Preserving the Revolutionary Moment.” Panel on “Cuba in Comparative Analysis,” organized by the Association for the Study of the Cuba Economy. Conference: Latin American Studies Association Annual Meeting held in Boston, MA, 27 May 2019.

“The Algorithmic Governance Contract and the (Internal) law of Production Chains.”New Governance Panel, Conference Reimagining Contract in a World of Global Value Chains, sponsored by Science Po Law School. European Law School, University of Turku, and Private Law Theory. Held at Science Po, Paris, France, 9-10 May, 2019.

“In the Shadow of Empires—Latin American Perceptions of Development and International Law.” Panel: Diverse Perspectives on the Impact of Colonialism in International Law, sponsored by the Minorities in International Law Interest Group. Conference: American Society of International Law Annual Conference. Washington, D.C., 28 March 2019.

“The Sort of Democracy Worth Preserving and Safeguarding: Voting in the Orbits of Exogenous and Endogenous Democracy.” Panel 1B: Democracy, Voting Rights, and the Courts. Conference: 4th National People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference, “People of Color and the Future of Democracy.” American University, Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C. March 22, 2019.

“La debida diligencia de derechos humanos: La Empresa Universitaria/Human Rights Due Diligence: The Enterprise of the University.” Presentation and address at the University of Sevilla (Spain) Faculty of Law, Seville, Spain 21 Feb. 2019.  

“The Democratic Constitution of Illiberal States: Panel: An Empirical Approach to Theorizing Popular Participation, Representation, and Constitutional Reform in Cuba.” Panel: “Popular Participation, Representation and Constitutional Reform in Cuba.” Conference “Marxist-Leninism 2.0: Theory and Practice of Emerging Socialist Democracy in China and Cuba. Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 13 February 2019.

“The Emergence of Socialist Consultative Democracy for China’s New Era: Endogenous Democracy and Constitutional Legitimacy in China.” Panel: “China’s Socialist Consultative Democracy” for the Conference ” Conference: Marxist-Leninism 2.0: Theory and Practice of Emerging Socialist Democracy in China and Cuba. Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. 12 February 2019.

“The Problem of the Enterprise and the Enterprise of Law: Regulating the Multinational Enterprise as Entity, as a Network of Links, and as a Process of Production.” Workshop presentation. University of San Diego Law School. San Diego, California 8 February 2019.

“问责时代的社会主义宪制民主.”[“Socialist Constitutional Democracy in the Age of Accountability]. 第十届“政治、法律与公共政策”年会—会议议程 [The 10th Annual Conference on “Politics, Law and Public Policy”–Agenda]. 主办单位 北京大学法治研究中心 北京大学法律经济学研究中心 重庆大学人文社会科学高等研究院. 特别鸣谢[sponsored by the Peking University Center for Rule of Law Research, the Peking University Law and Economics Research Center, and the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Chongqing University, with special thanks to the Hong Kong Lida Group]. Peking University School of Law. Beijing, China. 27 October 2018.

“And an Algorithm to Bind them All? Social Credit, Data Driven Governance, and the Emergence of an Operating System for Global Normative Orders.”  Workshop: Entangled Legalities hosted by  the Graduate Institute of Geneva and its Global Governance Center, Geneva, Switzerland, May 17, 2018

“Where Neither Corporate Nor International Law Converge: The Multinational Enterprise and Societal Frameworks.” ASIL International Legal Theory Interest Group (ILTIG) Symposium,  When Corporate and International Law Meet: Corporate Agency in a Global Context; co-organized by Durham University’s Institute of Commercial and Corporate Law (ICCL) and by the Jilin University School of Law. ASIL Tillar House, Washington, D.C., May 11, 2018.

“The Protection of the Rights of Corporations Under U.S. Constitutional Law.” Workshop presentation, East China University of Political Science and Law. Shanghai, China, 27 April 2018.

“The Structures and Ideologies of Social Credit in the U.S.” conference, 欧美国家信用法治经验及对中国的启示 [Experiences of Credit Law Practices From the U.S. and European Countries and its Implications for China], hosted by 首都师范大学 信用立法与信用评估研究中心 [Capital Normal University Research Center for Credit Law and Credit Assessment], Beijing, PRC, April 25, 2018.

“Designing an Ideal Curriculum for China’s One Belt One Road Initiative.” seminar presentation at Henan Normal University 河南师范大学 Law Faculty, Xin Xiang, Henan Province, PRC, on April 23, 2018.

“La debida diligencia de derechos humanos y las universidades/Human Rights Due Diligence and the University.” FORO: RETOS Y DESAFÍOS DE LAS EMPRESAS Y LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS;  Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Facultad de derecho y Consejería Presidencial para los Derechos Humanos. Panel 5: Empresas y derechos humanos: los retos desde la Academia; Bogotá, Colombia, 20 Marzo 2018. HRDD_University_Colombia_WEBSITE VERSION3-2018

“La gobernanza multinivel en el ejercicio de la profesión legal en empresas y derechos humanos/Multilevel Governance and the exercise of the Legal Profession respecting business and Human Rights.” FORO: RETOS Y DESAFÍOS DE LAS EMPRESAS Y LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS;  Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Facultad de derecho y Consejería Presidencial para los Derechos Humanos. Panel 2: El ejercicio de la profesión legal y los derechos humanos; Bogotá, Colombia, 20 Marzo 2018. Backer_BHR_LegalServ_ForoBHR3-2018.

“China’s One Belt One Road (OBOR) Initiative and the New Communist International.” Panel on Panel on Governance in China and Abroad. International Conference: The Vanguard Acts: Rule of Law and Governance in China at Home and Abroad 15 March 2018; 中国的法治与国家治理：国内与国外两个视角 2018年3月15日, 会议概念文件.  Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. 15 March 2018.

“Democratic Centralism in the Xi Jinping New Era.” The Vanguard Speaks: Round Table: Socialist Rule of Law and Governance after the 19th Chinese Communist Party Congress 13 March 2018 (国内外两个视角2018年3月13日圆桌会议概念文件). Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA. 13 March 2018.

“The Obligation of States to Prevent Negative Effects to Human Life and Health Caused by Climate Change: The View from International Human Rights Frameworks.” ESIL Research Forum on “International Disorder and Contestation,” Hebrew University of Jerusalem 28 Feb.- 1 March 2018. BackerESILClimateChange2-2018; For Presentation Summary HERE

“Embedding Human Rights Due Diligence in the University”.” Snapshot Presentation. 6^th U.N. Forum on Business and Human Rights. Geneva, Switzerland, November 27, 2017.

“Beyond Western Approaches to Non-Judicial Grievance Mechanisms.” Snapshot Presentation. 6^th U.N. Forum on Business and Human Rights. Geneva, Switzerland, November 27, 2017.

“Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era–新时代中国特色社会主义思想—As the Most Important Element of the 19th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party?” Roundtable on The Implications of the 19th Chinese Communist Party Congress.  Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 3 November 2017.

“Corporations and the U.S. Constitution: Origin of Rights and Recent Trends.” Seminar: East China University of Politics and Law, Shanghai, China, 23 October 2017.

“The (In)Visible Corporation: Asset Partitioning and Corporate Personality for an Emerging Age.” Conference: The Corporation in a Changing World International Commercial Law Center, Shanghai University  of Finance and Economics, Shanghai, China, 21-22 October 2017.

“Governance Compliance in Business and Human Rights Across Global Production Chains.” Seminar for Alliance Manchester Business School Business and Human Rights Catalyst Initiative, University of Manchester, Manchester, U.K. 12 October 2017.

“The Financial Sector Responsibility for Human Rights Conduct of Borrowers: Lessons from the Extractives Sector.” Manchester International Law Centre (MILC) Speaker Series. School of Law, University of Manchester, Manchester, U.K., 9 October 2017.

“Measurement, Assessment and Reward: The Challenges of Building Institutionalized Social Credit and Rating Systems in China and in the West?” International Symposium on Rule of Law & Social Credit Systems. KoGuan Law School, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. September 23, 2017. Shanghai, China.

“Communicate, Assess, Reward: Social Credit Systems and the Mass Line.” Panel: The crisis of representation and the Chinese Communist Party’s “Mass Line.” Conference: 12th Annual General Conference European China Law Studies Association, Faculty of Law of the Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands, August 25, 2017.

“The Algorithms of Ideology in Economic Planning: A Critical Look at Cuba’s National Economic and Social Development Plan 2030, With a Focus on the Pharma Sector.” Panel on “Cuban Economic Policies & Growth Strategies.” Conference: 27th Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy (Cuba: Navigating a Turbulent World), Miami, Florida 27 July 2017.

“One Belt One Road and RMB Internationalization—A Strategic Alliance.” Symposium On the Internationalization of the RMB: Risks and Challenges Ahead. Queen Mary University of London Centre for Commercial Law Studies in collaboration East China University of Political Science and Law, in association with the Institute for Global Law, Economics and Finance. London; 27 June 2017.

“Elements of the Law and Legal Systems of the United States.” Workshop on Comparative Law Systems, East China University of Political Science and Law (华东政法大学), Shanghai, China June 9, 2017.

“Monitoring, Assessment and Reward: Are there Social Credit Systems in the West?” Workshop on Social Credit, East China University of Political Science and Law (华东政法大学), Shanghai, China June 8, 2017.

“Unpacking Accountability: The Multinational Enterprise, the State, and the International Community.” Utrecht Center for Accountability and Liability Law (Ucall) Conference 2017: University of Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands, May 19, 2017.

“Transnational Legal Orders and Global Regulatory Networks.” International Francqui Symposium: Global and Transnational Law Today as part of Brussels Global Law Week. Centre Perelman de Philosophie du Droit, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium,  May 15, 2017.

“The Privatization of Governance: Emerging Trends and Actors.” International Conference: New International Trade and Investment Rules Between Globalization and Anti-Globalization. Pennsylvania  State Law, University Park Pennsylvania, April 22, 2017.

“The Responsibilities of Banks, Sovereign Wealth Funds and Other Financial Institutions to Respect Human Rights: The Example of the Extractives Sector Financing.” Mining Finance and Law Speaker Series. Western Ontario Law School, London, Ontario, Canada, March 29, 2017.

“Sovereign Wealth Funds, Capacity Building, Development, and Governance.” Conference: “The Future of Sovereign Wealth Funds.” Wake Forest Law Review, sponsor. Wake Forest University School of Law, 
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, March 24, 2017.

“The State Owned Enterprise, the State and Normative Human Rights.” Symposium: Sovereign Conduct on the Margins of the Law: Default, Terrorism, Cybercrime, Tax Evasion and State Owned Enterprises. Organized by the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law. Vanderbilt Law School, Nashville, TN, 17 February 2017.

Continuing Education/Short Course Presentations/Other Public Activities (selected since 2017):

“Class Struggle Comes to States in Multilateral Fiscal, Trade and Climate Footprints.” Cross Over Session: Understanding our Fiscal, trade and Climate Footprint—The Intersection of High, Middle and Low Income Countries’ Policies on the Achievement of the SDGs.  Purdy Crawford Workshop: The Role of Business Regulation in Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.  Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia 27 September 2019.

Roundtable Discussion: Reflecting on the Ethical and Professional Responsibilities  of Business  Lawyers for Environmental and Climate Justice—Developing a Research Agenda? .  Purdy Crawford Workshop: The Role of Business Regulation in Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.  Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia 27 September 2019.

“Introduction to the Language and Systems of Law in the US.“ Short Course held at Universidad Latina de Panamá: “Introduction to the Language and Systems of Law in the US” (Penn State Law-U. Latina Joint Program) Panama City, Panama, 6-15 July 2019.

“How to Become a Full-Time Law Professor.” for Panel 4G: How to Become a Full-Time Law Professor. Conference:  4th National People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference, “People of Color and the Future of Democracy.” American University Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C., 22 March 2019.

Reflections on “Multinational Enterprises and Supply Chain Liability.” AALS Economic Globalization and Governance Section Panel on Globalization, Sustainability and Firm Cultures. Conference: Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, January 3, 2019.

Presentation, “Elements of the Law and Legal Systems of the United States—The Five Distinctive Sub-Systems that Together Comprise U.S. Law.” Address to Post-Graduate Seminar.  China Jiliang University Law School, Hongzhou, China, September25, 2017.

Presentation, “Remarks: “Methodological Approaches to Assess the Legal Development in China’s One-Party State– A Personal Journey.” European China Law Studies Association Young Scholars Workshop. Panel on Methodological Approaches to Access the Legal Development in China’s One-Party State. Conference: 12th Annual General Conference European China Law Studies Association, Faculty of Law of the Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands, August 25, 2017.

CLE Presentation, “Foreign Investment in Cuba: Law, Policy, and Practicalities,” 27th Annual Conference Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy, Miami, Florida; 28 July 2017.

Presentation: “Cuba: Economy & Politics 2017.” Program on Cuba and Immigration Issues, sponsored by the Latinx Law Students Association, Penn State Law. University Park, PA April 11, 2017.

Presentation: “Diversity in Legal Education: Considering the Hollow Spaces Between Speech and Action.”  Program: All in at Penn State Law: Addressing Diversity & Implicit Bias. Penn State University Law School Diversity Committee, sponsor. March 16, 2017.

“Between State, Company and Market: A Preliminary Engagement on the Business and Human Rights Obligations of States and State Owned Enterprises.”  School of International Affairs Research Seminar Series, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, February 21, 2017.

News, Commentary, and Testimony (Selected since 2017):

Interview: “Overturning Roe v. Wade; and the Leak of the Draft Opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org.” The Crossover Podcast (hosted by Ricardo Kometar); 19 May 2022. The  entire interview may be accessed HERE

Interview: “Secularism and Privatization,” MNT Network (India) (21 November 2021) (Interview by Ravi Prakash (Advocate on Record at Supreme Court of India)). Available https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYmvFckmbPY.

Interview: “Liberal democracy would have to conform itself to new facts,” Mehr News Agency (20 July 2021) (Interview by Payman Yazdani).  Available https://en.mehrnews.com/news/176338/Liberal-democracy-would-have-to-conform-itself-to-new-facts.

Interview: “COVID-19 revealing little parts of fundamental shifting of global ordering: Prof. Larry Backer,” Mehr News Agency, TEHRAN, 18 March 2020 (Interview with Payman Yazdani).

Quoted in Pan Mengqi, Ren Qi, and Dong Leshuo, “US exit from INF a ‘great blow’ to global security,” ChinaDaily Aug. 5, 2019, p. 12.

Interview: “No Trade War Likely.” Teheran Times,  (April 7, 2018, pp. 1, 7) (interview with Payman Yazdani) and also appears on line on the Mehr News Agency Website under the same title.

Interview: Prof. Backer: Nothing in NSS suggesting a strategic objective to reject JCPOA, Teheran Times 24 December 2017 (Interview by Payman Yazdani). Available  http://www.tehrantimes.com/news/419642/Prof-Backer-Nothing-in-NSS-suggesting-a-strategic-objective.

Interview: “Motives behind Trump’s systematic unilateral decisions,” Mehr News Agency (Iran) Nov. 6, 2017.  Available https://en.mehrnews.com/news/129196/Motives-behind-Trump-s-systematic-unilateral-decisions.

Quoted in Colleen Flaherty, “It’s a Tough Job, But Somebody’s Got to Do it,” Insider Higher Education November 3, 2017.  Available at  https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/11/03/how-two-institutions-are-trying-strengthen-shared-governance.

Interview: “Globalization of power components to change world’s polarization,” Mehr News Agency (Iran) (26 August 2017) (interview by Payman Yazdani), available http://en.mehrnews.com/news/127252/Globalization-of-power-components-to-change-world-s-polarization; Farsi language version (لری بیکر در گفتگو با مهر مطرح کرد؛

تأثیر جهانی‌سازی بر قطب‌بندی‌های جدید جهان/سقوط و ظهور هژمون‌ها

Pennsylvania State University Service Activities (2000 to present excluding service at Penn State Law or the School of International Affairs ):

1. Penn State University Faculty Senate (Committee of Past Chairs since 2017; elected position as Penn State Law Senator representative 2005 to 2017; Parliamentarian (2014-2015); Immediate Past Chair (2013-14); Chair (2012-2013); Chair Elect (2011-2012); Secretary (2010-2011).
2. University Board of Trustees: Committee on Finance, Business and Capital Planning (2012-2013).
3. University Committees Appointed (selected): University Joint Diversity Awareness Task Force (2015-16; Chair); Presidential Search Committee (2012-2013); Freeh Group Advisory Committee (Advisory Council for Continued Excellence (ACCE) after 2013 (2012-2014); Facilities Naming Committee (2012-2013); Academic Leadership Council (2012-2013); Faculty Advisory Committee to the President (2010-2014); Implementation Task Force for Global Engagement Brazil (2012-2013); Task Group for Global engagement, Brazil (2011): Task Group for a Global Engagement Node in Cuba (2010); University Immediate Tenure Review Committee (2008-2010); University Promotion and Tenure Committee (2005-2007); School of International Affairs Establishment Committee (2005-2006); Dean Search Committee (2001-2002; 2015-16).