The U.S. Relationship with the ICC Blossoms into a Love Affair?

Professor David Kaye has a thoughtful essay in the latest issue of Foreign Affairs analyzing the growing level of cooperation between the U.S. and the ICC.   He correctly notes that the U.S. is not only no longer actively hostile, but it has taken various steps in recent years to actively support the work of the ICC (most notably in Uganda against the LRA).

We’ve already discussed the relationship between U.S. conservatives and the ICC here, and I suspect the future of US-ICC cooperation will depend on the views of U.S. conservatives who can still muster 40 plus votes in the Senate (and may get more soon).  As Kaye notes, there is no prospect of U.S. ratification of the ICC Rome Statute now or in the foreseeable future. And the Palestine investigation that Kevin mentions below is going to return the ICC to the U.S. Congress’ attention in the context of Israeli relations, which is the absolute worst context for the ICC.

I would say the ICC’s only hope of US ratification one day lies in a slow cultural change. Perhaps this new NBC drama “Crossing Lines”  will help.  Then again, since it seems to propose that the ICC will operate with a shadowy investigative team of former cops, I wonder if this might backfire…