Guide to Specialists

Scott N. Carlson
Rule of Law Advisor

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Phone: (202) 429-7160

E-mail: scarlson@usip.org

Scott N. Carlson is an advisor in the Institute’s Rule of Law Center of Innovation, where he focuses on rule of law initiatives in post-conflict environments. He serves as co-director and facilitator for the International Network to Promote the Rule of Law and is the lead drafter of a USIP-U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime Rule of Law Handbook. Prior to joining the Institute, he worked both in the field and at headquarters postings as an international rule of law advisor designing and administering technical assistance programs for a variety of organizations, including the UN, EU, USAID, GTZ, World Bank, OSCE and the private sector.

During his most extensive overseas posting, Carlson co-directed a project to organize a participatory constitution-making process in Albania. This project, a joint initiative of GTZ, OSCE, and USAID, allowed a diverse range of public involvement in the development of Albania’s first permanent post-communist constitution. On the basis of this experience, Carlson joined USIP to promote participatory constitutional processes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Iraq.

Previously, Carlson was a Supreme Court Fellow at the U.S. Supreme Court, and he has worked as lawyer for the U.S. Department of Treasury, receiving various performance awards. Carlson received a B.A. from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a J.D., cum laude, from the University of Georgia School of Law, and an LL.M., with distinction, from Georgetown University Law School.

Publications:

• "Albania," in Nations in Transit, edited by Freedom House, (Freedom House, 2000-2002).
• A Primer for Legal and Judicial Rule of Law Work in Complex Multi-dimensional Peacekeeping Operations (UN DPKO 2007).
• "A Targeted Analysis of the Implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in the Republic of Macedonia," ABA/CEELI ICCPR Legal Implementation Index (Spring 2005).
• "Legal and Judicial Rule of Law Work in Multi-dimensional Peacekeeping Operations: Lessons-Learned Study," UNDPKO Lessons-Learned Series (Spring 2006).
• "Politics, Public Participation, and the 1998 Albanian Constitution," Osteuroparecht (Winter 1999).
• "Political Killings in Kosovo/Kosova," co-author, American Bar Association Report (ABA, Fall 2000).
• "The Post-Conflict Transitional Administration of Kosovo and the Lessons-Learned in Efforts to Establish a Judiciary and Rule of Law," co-author, Michigan Journal of International Law (Fall 2001).
• The Practical Guide to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, co-author, (Transnational, Fall 2003).