James Kraska is a McCurdy Visiting Scholar at Duke University Marine Laboratory. He also serves as a guest investigator at the Marine Policy Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and as a senior fellow at the Center for Oceans Law and Policy at the University of Virginia School of Law.

His publications include numerous articles and six books, including Maritime Power and Law of the Sea, published by Oxford University Press. He is working on a study titled Green Governance in the Blue Arctic, also for Oxford University Press. Kraska served as a navy lawyer and officer for more than twenty years. He has taught at institutions around the world, including the United States Naval War College, where he was Howard S. Levie Chair. Kraska earned a professional doctorate in law from Indiana University, Bloomington, and a research doctorate in law from the University of Virginia.