Rosa Brooks ( Ehrenreich; born 1970) is an American law professor, journalist, author and commentator on foreign policy, U.S. politics and criminal justice. She is the Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law and Policy at

Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...

. Brooks is also an adjunct scholar at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

's Modern War Institute and a senior fellow at the

New America Foundation New America, formerly the New America Foundation, is a think tank in the United States founded in 1999. It focuses on a range of public policy issues, including national security studies, technology, asset building, health, gender, energy, educa ...

. From April 2009 to July 2011, Brooks was a counselor to

Under Secretary of Defense for Policy The United States under secretary of defense for policy (USDP) is a high level civilian official in the United States Department of Defense. The under secretary of defense for policy is the principal staff assistant and adviser to both the Unite ...

Michèle Flournoy Michèle Angélique Flournoy (, born December 14, 1960) is an American defense policy advisor and former government official. She was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy under President Bill Clinton and Under Secretary of Defense ...

. Brooks is a commentator on politics and foreign policy. She served as a columnist and contributing editor for ''

Foreign Policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...

'' and as a weekly columnist for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

.'' Brooks authored the 2016 book ''How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything'' and the 2021 book ''Tangled Up in Blue: Policing the American City,'' which is based on her five years as a reserve police officer in Washington, D.C. At Georgetown Law, Brooks founded the Center for Innovations in Community Safety, formerly the Innovative Policing Program, which in 2017 launched the Police for Tomorrow Fellowship Program with Washington, D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department. She founded the Leadership Council for Women in National Security and the

Transition Integrity Project The Transition Integrity Project (TIP) was a series of political scenario exercises in the United States beginning in June 2020, involving over 100 current and former senior government and campaign leaders, academics, journalists, polling exper ...

. In 2021, Washingtonian magazine listed Brooks as one of Washington's 250 "most influential people."

Early life and education

Rosa Brooks is the daughter of author

Barbara Ehrenreich Barbara Ehrenreich (, ; ; August 26, 1941 – September 1, 2022) was an American author and political activist. During the 1980s and early 1990s, she was a prominent figure in the Democratic Socialists of America. She was a widely read and awar ...

(née Alexander) and psychologist

John Ehrenreich John Ehrenreich (born February 20, 1943) is an American clinical psychologist and social critic, who has published books on health policy, humanitarian policy, US history and US social policy. He is known for his development (with his then-wife, B ...

. Her parents separated when she was young. Her brother is journalist and author

Ben Ehrenreich Ben Ehrenreich (born 1972) is an American freelance journalist and novelist who lives in Los Angeles. Career Ehrenreich began working as a journalist in the alternative press in the late 1990s, publishing extensively in ''LA Weekly'' and ''The Vi ...

. Brooks was born in a public clinic in New York. She studied at Syosset High School in

Syosset, New York Syosset (also known as Little East Woods or Locust Grove) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the Town of Oyster Bay, in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 19,259 at the 202 ...

but left early to attend Harvard. In 1991, she earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(history and literature) from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. While an undergraduate, Brooks served as president of the Phillips Brooks House Association, Harvard's undergraduate public service organization. She graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

and was a

Marshall Scholar The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is widely considered one of the most prestigious sc ...

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. In 1993, Brooks received a

Master of Studies The Master of Studies or Master in Studies (M.St. or MSt; ) is a postgraduate degree at the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of St Andrews, the Australian National University, University of Dublin and the University of N ...

from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Social anthropology Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...

. In 1996, she received a J.D. from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

Career

Brooks was a lecturer at

, where she was the director of Yale Law School's human rights program. She was a fellow at the

Carr Center for Human Rights Policy Carr Center for Human Rights Policy is a research center at Harvard Kennedy School founded in 1999. The center's scholars address issues related to human rights, including human security, global governance and civil society, economic justice, and e ...

at Harvard's

Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

, a board member of

Amnesty International USA Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) is one of many country sections that make up Amnesty International worldwide. Amnesty International is an organization of more than 7 million supporters, activists and volunteers in over 150 countries, with compl ...

and a member of the Executive Council of the

American Society of International Law The American Society of International Law (ASIL), founded in 1906, was chartered by the United States Congress in 1950 to foster the study of international law, and to promote the establishment and maintenance of international relations on the ba ...

. Brooks served on the board of the

Open Society Foundation Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a grantmaking network founded and chaired by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with a sta ...

's US Programs Fund. Brooks was a senior advisor at the

US Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...

’s

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Affairs (DRL) is a bureau within the United States Department of State. The bureau is under the purview of the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights. DRL's resp ...

. Brooks was a consultant for the

Open Society Institute Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a grantmaking network founded and chaired by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with a sta ...

and

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

. Brooks was a member of the Policy Committee of the National Security Network. From 2001 to 2006, she was an associate professor at the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

. Brooks has been a columnist for the

(June 2005 to April 9, 2009) and, since 2007, a professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. From April 2009 to July 2011, was on public service leave from Georgetown to serve as counselor to

Michele Flournoy Michele (), is an Italian male given name, akin to the English male name Michael. Michele (pronounced ), is also an English female given name that is derived from the French Michèle. It is a variant spelling of the more common (and identically ...

. She received the

Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service The Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service is the second highest award presented by the Secretary of Defense to non-career Federal employees, private citizens, and foreign nationals for contributions, assistance, or support to D ...

for her work at the Defense Department. Brooks currently serves on the board of the

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

Foundation, the Advisory Committee of National Security Action and the Steering Committee of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security. From 2016 to 2020, she was also a reserve police officer with the

Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC), more commonly known as the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the DC Police, and, colloquially, the DCPD, is the primary law enforcement agency for the District of Columb ...

, and she received the Chief of Police Special Award in 2019.

Writings

Brooks' scholarly work has focused mostly on national security,

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

and

rule of law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...

issues,

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

law of war The law of war is the component of international law that regulates the conditions for initiating war (''jus ad bellum'') and the conduct of warring parties (''jus in bello''). Laws of war define sovereignty and nationhood, states and territor ...

and

failed state A failed state is a political body that has disintegrated to a point where basic conditions and responsibilities of a sovereign government no longer function properly (see also fragile state and state collapse). A state can also fail if the go ...

s. Along with Jane Stromseth and David Wippman, Brooks coauthored ''Can Might Make Rights? Building the Rule of Law After Military Interventions'' (2006). Brooks is also the author of numerous scholarly articles published in law reviews. Brooks authored the 2016 book ''How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything''. It was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and was selected by ''

Military Times Sightline Media Group, formerly Gannett Government Media and Army Times Publishing Company, is a United States company that publishes newspapers, magazines, websites, and other publications about the U.S. and other militaries. The company's '' ...

'' as one of the ten best books of the year. The book was also shortlisted for the

Lionel Gelber Prize The Lionel Gelber Prize is a literary award for English non-fiction books on foreign policy. Founded in 1989 by Canadian diplomat Lionel Gelber, the prize awards "the world’s best non-fiction book in English on foreign affairs that seeks to deep ...

and the

Arthur Ross Book Award The Arthur Ross Book Award is a politics-related literary award. History and administration It was endowed in 2001 by Arthur Ross, an American businessman and philanthropist, for the purpose of recognizing books that make an outstanding cont ...

. In 2021, she published ''Tangled Up in Blue: Policing the American City,'' which is about her experience as a reserve police officer in Washington, D.C.

Political commentary

In addition to her columns for the ''

'' and ''

'', Brooks was a founder of ''Foreign Policys weekly podcast, ''The E.R.,'' and is now a member of the Deep State Radio podcast team. She has been a frequent guest and panelist on

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

and

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

. Brooks has contributed op-eds and book reviews to the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

,'' ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' and numerous other publications.

Personal life

Brooks has two children. Brooks was previously married to the Yale literary critic Peter Brooks, and is now married to LTC Joseph Mouer, a now-retired Army Special Forces officer.

Works

*''Tangled Up in Blue: Policing the Nation's Capital,'' Penguin, 2021, *''How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything,'' Simon and Schuster, 2016, * Rosa Brooks, Jane Stromseth, David Wippman, ''Can Might Make Rights? Building the Rule of Law After Military Interventions'',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

, 2006, * ''A Garden of Paper Flowers: An American at Oxford'', Picador, 1994, (under the name Rosa Ehrenreich; later articles are credited to Rosa Ehrenreich Brooks)

References

External links

*
Profile
at

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Rosa 1970 births Living people Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford American foreign policy writers American legal scholars American legal writers American women lawyers Clinton administration personnel Harvard College alumni International law scholars International relations scholars Obama administration personnel Lawyers from New York City Los Angeles Times people Marshall Scholars People from Syosset, New York Syosset High School alumni United States Department of Defense officials Women legal scholars Women political scientists Writers from New York City Yale Law School alumni Georgetown University Law Center faculty 21st-century American women