Research
I have recently published my first monograph: Liberal Self-Determination in a World of Migration (New York: Oxford University Press, 2022).
In the book, I defend a new theory of immigration that rejects both the extremes of open borders and absolute control over immigration. I explain why liberal states have a moral right to control their borders, whilst simultaneously defending a number of moral duties that liberal states have towards non-citizen.
My second book, Parenting and the Goods of Childhood, was published in 2023. There, I defend a new theory of the moral right to parent by focusing on the special role of parents in creating the conditions for the flourishing of their children irrespective of whether there is a biological connection between them. I also provide a partial theory of childrearing which focuses on the goods of childhood that parents are primarily responsible for fostering: carefreeness, enjoyment-driven or curiosity-driven achievement, and friendship.
Finally, I have been successful in securing funding for my research. In 2014 I was awarded a VENI grant by the NWO ($250,000 Euros); my project was entitled “Asylum Theory for a Non-Ideal World”. In 2020 I was awarded a Laurance S. Rockefeller Fellowship from the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University, for a project entitled “Procreation, Adoption and the Goods of Childhood”. In 2021 I was awarded an ARC DECRA for my project: “Life without Birth: The Ethics, Politics, and Law of Artificial Wombs” ($352,000 AUD).
In 2024, I was part of an interdisciplinary team that worked on a White Paper entitled “A Flourishing Childhood: The Future of Early Childhood Education and Care in Australia”. This was funded by SSSHARC at the University of Sydney.
A full list of journal articles and book chapters can be found on my staff page and Google Scholar.