Research Bio

Christopher Kutz is a legal scholar whose research investigates moral philosophy, democratic theory, and criminal law. He is best known for his book Complicity: Ethics and Law for a Collective Age (Cambridge 2001), which examines how individuals bear responsibility for collective harms, and for his scholarship on democratic participation and global governance. Kutz's work integrates legal theory, political philosophy, and criminal law to analyze questions of responsibility, authority, and legitimacy in domestic and international law and politics. His research contributes to understanding how legal systems can address collective action problems in both domestic and international contexts.  His 2016 book, On War and Democracy (Princeton), looks at the special obligations and restrictions that liberal democracies must observe in international affairs.  His most recent book (Oxford 2025), Publics in Action, makes use of his experience as a faculty member at the University of California for more than 25 years to examine the nature and ideal character of public institutions, from public education to public infrastructure to public safety to the fragile coalition of states confronting the challenge of global climate change.

He is C. William Maxeiner Distinguished Professor of Law at UC Berkeley and former chair of the Berkeley Faculty Senate. His articles have been published in the California Law Review, Philosophy and Public Affairs, and Ethics and International Affairs. Kutz has received recognition for his contributions to jurisprudence and political theory. At Berkeley, he teaches criminal law, moral philosophy, and legal theory, mentoring students in law, ethics, and political philosophy.

Research Expertise and Interest

criminal law, moral, legal and political philosophy