Rate My Professor Jacques deLisle

Jacques deLisle is the Stephen A. Cozen Professor of Law and Professor of Political Science with a secondary appointment at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. He serves as Director of the Center for the Study of Contemporary China since 2019, Co-Director of the Center for Asian Law since 2014, and Chair of the Asia Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute since 2023. deLisle earned a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1990, completed Ph.D. coursework in Government at Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (ABD), and received an A.B. summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1982. His academic career at Penn Law began as Assistant Professor from 1994 to 1999, followed by promotion to Professor from 1999 to 2006, and appointment to the Cozen Chair in 2006. Earlier roles include law clerk to Judge Stephen G. Breyer on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit from 1991 to 1992 and Attorney-Adviser in the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice from 1992 to 1994. He has held visiting professorships at institutions including National University of Singapore, Waseda University, Universidad de Aveiro, Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and University of Hong Kong Law School.

deLisle's research and teaching center on contemporary Chinese law and politics, encompassing legal reform in relation to economic reform and political change in China, the international status of Taiwan and cross-Strait relations, China’s engagement with the international legal order, legal and political issues in Hong Kong under Chinese sovereignty, and U.S.-China relations. His prolific scholarship includes co-edited volumes such as The Party Leads All: The Evolving Role of the Chinese Communist Party (Brookings Institution Press, 2022), To Get Rich Is Glorious: Challenges Facing China’s Economic Reform and Opening at Forty (Brookings Institution Press, 2019), Taiwan in the Era of Tsai Ing-wen: Changes and Challenges (Routledge, 2021), and China’s Global Engagement: Cooperation, Competition, and Influence in the 21st Century (Brookings Institution Press, 2017). Notable articles feature "Borderline Sovereignty Disorder: China and the Law and Politics of the China-India Territorial Disputes" (Chinese Journal of Comparative Law, 2025), "China and Sovereignty in International Law: Across Time and Issue Areas" (UC Irvine Journal of International, Transnational, and Comparative Law, 2024), and "Foreign Policy through Other Means: Hard Power, Soft Power, and China’s Turn to Political Warfare" (Orbis, 2020). Awards and honors include the Sears Prize from Harvard Law School, Kukin Scholar from the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, NCR Foundation Fellowship for dissertation research in China, and multiple grants from the University of Pennsylvania and foundations such as the Henry R. Luce Foundation. deLisle frequently serves as an expert witness on People's Republic of China law and policies, and as a consultant, lecturer, and advisor for legal reform programs primarily in China.