The Department of Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen is delighted to be hosting the upcoming workshop, “Migration and Asylum in Scotland: A Philosophical Perspective”. This one-day workshop will explore how a distinctively philosophical voice might be added to the existing scholarly literature on migration and asylum in Scotland in particular, and in sub-state regions more generally.
Confirmed Speakers:
- David Owen (University of Southampton)
- Kerri Woods (University of Leeds)
- Natasha Saunders (University of St Andrews)
- Bradley Hillier-Smith (University of St Andrews)
Organiser: Eilidh Beaton (University of Aberdeen)
Details:
The philosophy of migration and asylum is often state-centric. Much work in this area focuses on migrants’ entitlements against states, and states’ corresponding responsibilities to fulfil these entitlements (e.g. Carens 2013, Miller 2016, Gibney 2018). In recent years, however, calls have been made to move beyond this state-centric lens, including by paying more attention to the role of sub-state political authorities (e.g. Sager 2016, Buxton 2024).
Against this background, Scotland presents itself as a promising case study. As a devolved nation within the UK, the Scottish Parliament retains control over a wide range of social matters, including housing, benefits, and social services. Hence, as Gareth Mulvey (2018) nicely summarises, while immigration policy is reserved to Westminster, immigrant policy—what happens once people arrive—is largely devolved to the Scottish government. Layered legal landscapes of this sort raise questions which remain as-yet under-explored in the philosophical literature. For instance, how should existing recommendations for migrant integration and inclusion (e.g. Carens 2013, De Schutter & Ypi 2015, Miller 2016) be (re-) interpreted and applied in such contexts, given their distinctive features, promises, and risks (e.g. Arrighi 2014; Galandini et al 2018)?
Socio-culturally too, the Scottish context is ripe for further exploration. It is common across sub-state regions to find discourse portraying the regional government as more progressive and welcoming than the ‘exclusionary and hostile’ central state (Edwards & Wisthaler 2023), and Scotland is no exception (e.g. SNP 2025, Brand Scotland). However, the reality of Scottish attitudes toward migration is more complex than these announcements sometimes suggest (e.g. Kyambi & Kay 2025), and this discourse of progressiveness often serves regional nation-building projects (Edwards & Wisthaler 2023, Wisthaler 2023). Again, this context raises normative questions worthy of greater philosophical attention—for instance, the extent to which advocates seeking meaningful material support for migrants should support or oppose such rhetoric.
This one-day workshop aims to explore how a distinctively philosophical voice might be added to the existing scholarly literature on migration and asylum in Scotland in particular, and in sub-state regions more generally.
This workshop is sponsored by the Scots Philosophical Association, the Society of Applied Philosophy, and CEKAS at the University of Aberdeen.
Further details (including reference list): available on PhilEvents.
- Venue
- 50/52 College Bounds, CB009
- Contact
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Expressions of interest in attending should be sent to Eilidh Beaton at eilidh.beaton@abdn.ac.uk.