MMB Reading Group: ‘Justice, Migration, and Mercy’ by Michael Blake

In April we will meet to discuss Justice, Migration, and Mercy by Michael Blake (Oxford University Press, 2020).

Justice, Migration, and Mercy provides a vision of how we can understand the political morality of migration. It offers a novel, and plausible, account of the right to exclude on which that right is grounded on a more fundamental right to avoid unwanted forms of political relationship. Far from simply justifying exclusion, however, Blake examines the best justifications for exclusion in an effort to determine its limits. In doing so, he challenges the current global realities of migration which ensure open borders for a select few and closed borders for the majority, most often the most marginalized in society.

His account sheds light on more specific questions of justice in migration, such as the permissibility of travel bans and carrier sanctions. He also offers a particular vision about how to go beyond questions of right and liberal justice, towards a declaration of the sort of community we wish to be. Blake then identifies the moral notion of mercy as a central one for the moral analysis of migration, a move which leads to the conclusion that we ought to show mercy and justice in constructing migration policy as well as in public debate.

To register for this meeting and receive a Zoom link, please complete this short form. 

An e-book of Justice, Migration, and Mercy is available in the UoB library.

Read a review of the book in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews here.