As Editors-in-Chief of the American Journal of International Law, we endeavor to promote the study and practice of international law through broad, open, critical, and vigorous debate, both on and off the pages of the Journal. The success of our enterprise depends on freedom of inquiry—the ability to research, investigate, evaluate, theorize, challenge, collaborate, write, lecture, and publish without influence, coercion, or apprehension. The Journal can fulfill this mission only if the teaching, study, and practice of international law in the United States (and beyond) proceed without political conditions or fear of retribution. Recent actions by the U.S. government and broader trends in the United States demonstrate a lack of commitment to law and institutions in ways that undermine our work. In particular, the government’s threats to universities and research journals undercut the study and teaching of international law, its threats to law firms and non-profit organizations impinge on the practice of international law, and its targeting of people with varying immigration statuses on the basis of their lawful exercise of free speech silences important voices in our community.

We hope that readers will join us in resisting such measures and in fostering wide-ranging and vigorous debate about the study and practice of international law.