Do States Have the Right to Exclude Immigrants? (Series: Political Theory Today)
Author: Christopher Bertram
Publisher: Polity Press
Print Length: 140 pages
Genre: Non-Fiction / Popular Science, Political Science, Philosophy, Migration & Refugee Studies
Topic: Refugees & Forced Migration, Asylum & Asylum Seekers, Asylum & Refugee System, Migrants, Foreign/Migrant Workers, Migration, Immigration Control, Immigration System, Ethics & Morality, Politics & Power, State Control, Equality & Inequality, Structural Injustice, Justice, Global Distributive Justice
States claim the right to choose who can come to their country. They put up barriers and expose migrants to deadly journeys. Those who survive are labelled ‘illegal’ and find themselves vulnerable and unrepresented. The international state system advantages the lucky few born in rich countries and locks others into poor and often repressive ones.
In this book, Christopher Bertram skillfully weaves a lucid exposition of the debates in political philosophy with original insights to argue that migration controls must be justifiable to everyone, including would-be and actual immigrants. Until justice prevails, states have no credible right to exclude and no-one is obliged to obey their immigration rules.
Bertram’s analysis powerfully cuts through the fog of political rhetoric that obscures this controversial topic. It will be essential reading for anyone interested in the politics and ethics of migration.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Migration Today and in History
2. Justifying a Migration Regime from an Impartial Perspective
3. Obligations of Individuals and States in an Unjust World
Concluding Thoughts
Notes
References
Christopher Bertram is Professor of Social and Political Philosophy at the Department of Philosophy, University of Bristol. His book, Rousseau and The Social Contract appeared in 2003 in Routledge’s Philosophy Guidebooks series. His main research interests are in modern social contract theory, in theories of justice (especially global distributive justice, including issues concerning territory and migration) and in public justification. He has published on liberal theories of justice, history of political thought (especially Rousseau) and on just war theory and global distributive justice.
Source: https://philpeople.org/profiles/chris-bertram & https://www.bristol.ac.uk/media/experts/jsp/public_view/expertDetails?personKey=djOT2DkFtU4K2EgKeIWLdW7OnDE7ws
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