Orde Kittrie

Orde Kittrie is a senior fellow at FDD and a law professor at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.  He is based in Washington, DC.  He is a leading expert on international law and policy, particularly as it relates to the Middle East; on nonproliferation law and policy; and on U.S. regulation of international business transactions. Orde is the author of Lawfare: Law as a Weapon of War (Oxford University Press, 2016), which describes how and why law is becoming an increasingly powerful and prevalent weapon of war, providing examples of lawfare conducted by the United States, China, Israel, and the Palestinians as well as non-governmental organizations and individuals. In 2021, Orde received the Serge Lazareff Prize, awarded by NATO Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe for exceptional contributions to NATO in the legal arena.

Prior to entering academia, Orde served for 11 years at the Department of State, where he received the department’s Superior Honor Award and its Meritorious Honor Award. As the department’s lead nuclear affairs attorney, Orde helped negotiate five U.S.-Russia nuclear agreements and a UN treaty to combat nuclear terrorism. Orde also served as director of the department’s Office of International Anti-Crime Programs, as the department’s lead attorney for strategic trade controls, and as a lead attorney for public affairs and public diplomacy. He also served as special assistant to the under secretary of state for economic, business and agricultural affairs. Before joining the State Department, Orde served as legislative assistant and press spokesman for U.S. Representative Connie Morella (R-MD).

Orde has testified before various Senate and House committees and served on a special National Academies of Science committee to make recommendations on preventing nuclear, chemical, and biological proliferation. He has also testified before several state legislatures regarding divestment and other legislation related to foreign affairs.

Orde’s work has been featured in leading media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and Foreign Affairs. He has done on-air commentary for networks and stations such as NBC, ABC, Fox, PBS, and Al Jazeera. He is also the author of numerous scholarly articles. He received a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.