Democracy and Exclusion

This stimulating book explores a wide range of problems connected to migration and citizenship in contemporary democracies. Several of the topics Lenard discusses have received relatively little attention in the normative literature: denationalization, deportation of non-citizens, the claims of citizens living abroad, the issuance of visas, the resettlement of LGBTQ+ refugees, and naturalization ceremonies. Lenard writes in an open, concrete, highly accessible style that makes the book valuable for ordinary readers as well as scholars. * Joseph H. Carens, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of Toronto *
Lenard's arguments demonstrate how liberal democratic states unjustly exclude too many people from membership and territory, despite being premised on a principle of inclusion. At the same time, her contextual approach recognizes the messiness of political realities, and outlines incremental steps these states can take towards greater fairness. Democracy and Exclusion shows how political theory can make an important contribution to bringing about change within the limits of the political world we find ourselves in, without losing sight of what justice demands for the excluded. * Phillip Cole, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, University of the West of England *
Arguing within a contextual approach and offering numerous examples from around the world, Lenard convincingly contends that subjection to the legal and political power of a state, without proper protection from being excluded from territory and membership, is a violation of the democratic principle. Because of the rise of populist and xenophobic parties and governments within democracies there could not be a more timely book. Democracy and Exclusion is a must-read not only for those studying migration, but for any person who still has a heart. * Avner de Shalit, author of Cities and Immigration *
In her important new book, Lenard uses a wide lens—at once contextual and normative—to examine the many ways that democratic states exclude non-citizens and citizens from both territory and full membership in a polity. Democracy and Exclusion provides a new topography for critical discussions about migration, citizenship, inclusion, and exclusion—and gives us tools for evaluating current policies around migration and imagining what a more just migration regime in democratic states would look like. * Monique Deveaux, Professor of Philosophy and Canada Research Chair in Ethics & Global Social Change, University of Guelph *
Lenard has written a tour de force on exclusion in democratic societies. She looks into a number of different examples of exclusion and asks when it can be justified and when is it unjustified. The genius of the book is it looks at a range of instances from asylum seekers to prisoners or those with their citizenship removed. Lenard skilfully links these together in her conceptual framework on exclusion. A must-read. * Devyani Prabhat, author Unleashing the Force of Law *
This insightful study adds to immigration policy literature without settling the assimilationist-integrationist debate and provides useful tools and recommendations for mitigating the existing chasm of that divide. * Choice *