Amy Chua

John M. Duff, Jr. Professor of Law


Amy Chua is the John M. Duff, Jr. Professor of Law at Yale Law School. Her expertise is in international business transactions, law and development, ethnic conflict, and globalization and the law.

FULL BIOGRAPHY
Amy Chua

Contact Information



Faculty Assistant


Rosanna Gonsiewski

Education & Curriculum Vitae


J.D., Harvard Law School, 1987

A.B., Harvard University, 1984

Courses Taught


  • Contracts
  • International Business Transactions

Amy Chua is the John M. Duff, Jr. Professor of Law at Yale Law School. Professor Chua received both her A.B. and J.D. degrees from Harvard University. While at Harvard Law School, Professor Chua was Executive Editor of the Harvard Law Review. She then clerked for Chief Judge Patricia M. Wald on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and, prior to entering academics in 1994, practiced with the Wall Street firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. Professor Chua joined the Yale Law School faculty in 2001. Her expertise is in international business transactions, law and development, ethnic conflict, and globalization and the law. Her first book, World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability was a New York Times bestseller and selected by both The Economist and the U.K.’s Guardian as a Best Book of 2003. She is also the author of the critically acclaimed Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance — and Why They Fall, the 2011 memoir Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, and the New York Times bestseller, The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups, coauthored with Jed Rubenfeld. Her latest book is Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations (Penguin, 2018)  

Professor Chua has appeared on Good Morning AmericaThe Today ShowThe Colbert ReportCharlie Rose, and Real Time with Bill Maher. She has addressed numerous government and policymaking institutions, including the Brookings Institution, the CIA, the World Economic Forum in Davos, and the World Knowledge Forum in Seoul. In 2011, Professor Chua was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people, one of the Atlantic Monthly's Brave Thinkers, and one of Foreign Policy's Global Thinkers. She also received the Yale Law School's "Best Teaching" award.

Wednesday, January 19, 2022


How the English Language Conquered the World

John M. Duff, Jr. Professor of Law Amy Chua reviews The Rise of English by Rosemary Salomone.

Tuesday, August 11, 2020


How to end America's politics of hate and polarization

John M. Duff, Jr. Professor of Law Amy Chua is quoted in a USA Today commentary about why America is experiencing increasing political polarization.

Thursday, September 13, 2018


The Threat of Tribalism — A Commentary by Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld

Amy Chua is the John M. Duff, Jr. Professor of Law and Jed Rubenfeld is the Robert R. Slaughter Professor of Law at Yale Law School.

Friday, August 10, 2018


Our Own Idiosyncratic Version of the Same Ethno-Nationalist Dynamic: Talking to Amy Chua

John M. Duff, Jr. Professor of Law Amy Chua was interviewed about her latest release, “Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations.”

Friday, March 2, 2018


How Billionaires Learned to Love Populism-A Commentary by Amy Chua

Amy Chua is the John M. Duff, Jr. Professor of Law at Yale Law School.

Sunday, February 25, 2018


Amy Chua on how tribalism is tearing America apart

John M. Duff, Jr. Professor of Law Amy Chua was interviewed on a podcast, where she discussed her book, "Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations."

Tuesday, February 20, 2018


The Destructive Dynamics of Political Tribalism—A Commentary by Amy Chua

Amy Chua is the John M. Duff, Jr. Professor of Law at Yale Law School. 

Sunday, February 18, 2018


Have our tribes become more important than our country?

A review of "Political Tribes," the latest book by John M. Duff, Jr. Professor of Law Amy Chua.

Tuesday, February 13, 2018


Professor Amy Chua Publishes Book on Political Tribes

In her new book, Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations (Penguin, 2018), Amy Chua diagnoses the rising tribalism in America and abroad.

Thursday, February 1, 2018


Amy Chua: By the Book

John M. Duff, Jr. Professor of Law Amy Chua is interviewed about books and what she's reading.

Wednesday, June 7, 2017


How the 'Tiger Mom' Convinced the Author of Hillbilly Elegy to Write His Story

John M. Duff, Jr. Professor of Law Amy Chua is interviewed about her mentorship of J.D. Vance ’13.

Friday, June 10, 2016


The ‘Tiger Mother’ Has a Contract for Her Cubs—A Commentary by Amy Chua

Amy Chua is the John M. Duff, Jr. Professor of Law at Yale Law School.

Friday, January 30, 2015


A Week in the Life of the ‘Tiger Mother’ Amy Chua—A Commentary by Amy Chua

Amy Chua is the John M. Duff, Jr. Professor of Law at Yale Law School. 

Thursday, February 6, 2014


The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America—A Book by Professors Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld

A new book written by Professors Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld takes a close look at one of humanity’s enduring mysteries – how some individuals from unpromising origins find success and why some cultural groups in the U.S. seem to consistently outperform others.

Monday, March 5, 2012


Amy Chua Authors Newsweek Cover Story, The Rise of China's Billionaire Tiger Women

Amy Chua, John M. Duff, Jr. Professor of Law, writes for Newsweek on “The rise of China’s Billionaire Tiger Women.”

Tuesday, March 27, 2007


Amy Chua to Discuss “Empire and Tolerance” in Duff Inaugural Lecture April 9

On April 9, Professor Amy Chua will deliver her inaugural lecture as John M. Duff, Jr. Professor of Law—“Empire and Tolerance: The Rise and Fall of World Dominant Powers.”

Books

Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations (2018)

The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America (2014)

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (The Penguin Press, 2011)

Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance—And Why They Fall (Doubleday, 2007)

World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability (Doubleday, 2003
(made The New York Times and Business Week bestseller lists; selected by both The Economist and The Guardian as one of the best books of 2003; featured on C-Span’s Booknotes and PBS’s The Jim Lehrer News Hour; translated into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Italian, and Spanish)