Who makes the rules?
Who enforces them?
Who benefits?

Socio-historical examinations of the formal and informal systems that govern societies—from international maritime law to samurai ethics to violence in the arena.

About

The Short Version

My Great Aunt Goldie once described my work to an acquaintance: “He’s a doctah, just not de kind dat helps people… he vorks in international law, but he’s not a lawyah… and de pirates, I don’t know; vhy pirates?” She then gave me a hug. Her evaluation was remarkably accurate.

All societies create, enforce, and adjudicate rules. These rules—whether emanating from the simplest forms of animistic religions or the most complex codifications of particular moral consciences—inform, and are informed by, juridical apparatuses. These are systems of social control. I study how these rules are produced, sustained, and replicated, and how social inequalities are not the unintended consequences of social control gone awry but requisite features that benefit particular social elites.

Research

Three Fields of Inquiry, One Common Thread

01

International Law

The Law of the Sea, Foundations of the Laws of War, and Dueling—yea, dueling.

Formal Social Control, Hortatory Law and Informal Regulatory Regimes

02

Japanese Cultural History

The Influence of Bushido and Bushi Ethics During Periods of Socio-Political Transition in Japan.

Informal Social Control’s Power to Influence Formal Structures

03

Sports Violence

Laws, Rules, Norms and the Influence of Corporations on Violence in Sport.

Violence as a Means of Formal and Informal Regulatory Regimes

The Socio-Historical Case for the Existence of a Nexus Requirement in the Application of Universal Jurisdiction to Maritime Piracy

Jeffrey T. Tirshfield, Journal of the History of International Law 19 (2017), 467–494.

Abstract

This article provides a historical account of the application of universal jurisdiction to piracy jure gentium and details the nexus requirement. Prior work by Kontorovich and Art noted an increase in the application of universal jurisdiction concurrent with the rise of piracy off the coast of Somalia, yet did not address the historical case for the attribution of nexus to its application. I argue that any presupposition of a lack of connection in the application of universality should be questioned, as not only is there a normative connection between the seizing and the adjudicating state, but that historically this has always been the case until just prior to the advent of third-party jurisdictional piracy courts in Kenya and the Seychelles that address Somali piracy, and only Somali piracy.

Keywords: universal jurisdiction · nexus · piracy · maritime · admiralty

↓ Download PDF View at Brill →

DOI: 10.1163/15718050-19041043

Teaching

Courses

Teaching as an extension of research—each course interrogates the systems that shape how societies govern themselves and each other.

Classes Spring 2026

Japanese Culture Inside/Out

SOCI 123 · Spring 2026

Syllabus & Readings →

Law & Society

SOCI 140 · Spring 2026

Syllabus & Readings →

Writing & Ideas

Notes from the Margins

Commentary, work in progress, and the occasional provocation. Substack coming soon.

Coming Soon

Jiketsu 自決

For Students

Financial Literacy

A collection of resources, concepts, and frameworks designed to help students build financial understanding. Because knowing how economic systems work is itself a form of navigating social control.

CONTACT

jtirshfi@ucsd.edu

SPECIALITIES

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It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sounds like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.