Professor Joseph Carens wins 2014 CB Macpherson Prize

May 29, 2014

The department is proud to announce that Professor Joseph Carens’ book, The Ethics of Immigration (Oxford University Press, 2013), has won the 2014 C.B. Macpherson Prize for the best book in political theory written by a Canadian.

The prestigious Macpherson Prize was established to honour the life and work of Crawford Brough Macpherson (1911-1987), an internationally renowned teacher and scholar of political theory.

“Joseph Carens’ The Ethics of Immigration is arguably the most substantial and enlightening discussion of the normative issues raised by international immigration available.”

“Carens’s long-awaited book reprises many of his founding contributions to the field while also advancing them significantly. Carens navigates deftly between grand theory and contextual analysis, between the demands of realism and those of justice, to achieve a synoptic and clarifying analysis of migration ethics. This is an optimistic work of political theory, one motivated by the author’s conviction that justice is possible when democratic states pursue immigration policies ‘true to their most basic commitments’.“–Linda Bosniak, Distinguished Professor of Law, Rutgers University

“Elegantly argued…Carens covers the plight of refugees, guest workers, and other displaced persons with nuance and sympathy.“–Publisher’s Weekly