Dr Rufaida Al Hashmi

My research interests lie in contemporary political theory, with a particular focus on the ethics of migration.  

My book, under contract with Oxford University Press, explores how borders are open for some and closed for others. While selection on the basis of race, ethnicity, or religion has received considerable attention in both academic and public debate, many of the criteria that states most commonly use to select among immigrants, such as integration potential, national security, and nationality-based considerations, remain overlooked. The book interrogates the dominant ways in which states determine which immigrants are deemed desirable and welcome, and which are not. I argue that even if states have a legal right to exclude, there are nonetheless significant moral constraints on how they may select among would-be immigrants, stemming from the receiving state’s own interests and principles.