The Ethics and Politics of Asylum: Liberal Democracy and the
Response to Refugees. By Matthew J. Gibney. New York: Cambridge
University Press, 2004. 298p. $70.00 cloth, $27.99 paper.
This book is an important contribution at the interface of
contemporary political theory and international relations. Political
asylum is a defining issue of our time because of the scope and impact of
the refugee crisis and its roots in deepening global inequities. Matthew
Gibney addresses the conflict between the ethical and political claims of
refugees and the claims of citizens that are embodied in asylum issues. In
the process, he demonstrates the intellectual and policy value of
treatments that interactively engage normative political theory and
international relations.