Tune in to the Governance Podcast with Dr Adam Tebble on the philosophical case for open borders, the role of experimentation in poverty alleviation, the line between academics and activism, and whether the state can improve governance outcomes. A unique discussion at the intersection of philosophy, policy and development economics.

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The Guest

Dr. Adam Tebble is a Senior Lecturer in Political Theory at King’s College London. He conducts research broadly within contemporary liberal political theory and specifically in classical liberalism, social justice and the politics of culture and identity. He is the author of Hayek (Bloomsbury) and Epistemic Liberalism, a Defence (Routledge).

Prior to joining King’s in 2011, Dr Tebble taught at the School of Public Policy, UCL. In the United States he has taught at Brown University, where he was a Post-doctoral Research Fellow (2004-2006) and Lecturer (2006-2007) at the Department of Political Science.

Send us Your Questions for Adam

Send us your questions for our follow-up blog interview with Adam by June  15, 2018 at info@csgs.kcl.ac.uk, or drop us a line on facebook or twitter (@csgskcl).

Skip Ahead

00:50: What’s new about your case for open borders?

2:23: How are people who don’t immigrate benefited by those who do?

6:10: How does the theory of knowledge behind your argument challenge our understanding of evidence and bureaucratic expertise?

10:05: You argue that people can make governance in their home countries better off when they leave. What are the empirics on this?

14:20: How do the benefits of immigration outweigh the costs of brain drain?

17:00: Advocates of open borders will react favorably to your message, but some people in power will not. Who is your audience?

22:18: What do you advise a leader who puts the interests of their electorate first but still claims they have obligations to the global poor?

26:20: Are open borders only theoretically a good idea? In practice, don’t we have good reason to close borders on the basis of national security or economic interests?

30:51: If you have an authoritarian populist who refuses to have obligations to the global poor, how can you convince them to  open borders?

34:45: Is it okay for an academic to toe the line between the academy and activism?

36:22: Are you saying that there are no hard and fast rules about how to craft immigration policy or making a bolder proposal?

38:55: How have liberal thinkers from the 20th century shaped your thinking about migration policy?

49:40: It takes a long time for “experiments of living” to play out. What if we need the state to address more urgent social challenges here and now? What role does the state play in improving governance?