Reply to my critics
| Date | 01 July 2022 |
| Published date | 01 July 2022 |
| DOI | 10.1177/14748851221077564 |
| Subject Matter | Symposium on Shachar’s The Shifting Border |
Reply to my critics
Ayelet Shachar
Faculty of Law University of Toronto, R.F. Harney Chair in
Ethnic, Immigration and Pluralism Studies, Munk School of
Global Affairs and Public Policy, Toronto, Canada
Abstract
In this response essay, Ayelet Shachar replies to her critics, pushing beyond the argu-
ments developed in her most recent book, The Shifting Border, to probe new ideas.
Specifically, she elaborates five avenunes for exploration: dethorning the state as the
exclusive decisionmaker on migration; finding the tools to alleviate oppression in the cri-
ticized practices themselves; identifying rights and duty-bearers; exposing the spatial
dimension of structural injustice; and revisiting the role of territory as mediating equality.
Reply to my critics
“Small moves, Ellie, small moves”
Ellie Arroway, the protagonist of the film Contact—played by Judy Foster—is a sci-
entist who specializes in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. As a child curious to
know if there’s“anybody out there,”Ellie’s father nourished her fascination. “Small
moves, Ellie, small moves,”he guides her, as they use an amateur radio to scout the
sky for radio pulses, hoping to detect a ping from the cosmos. In Ellie’sfield of research,
small moves may lead to transformative changes.
I was reminded of Contact when I read the insightful responses offered by my astute
and generous interlocutors. Inspired by their queries and observations, for which I am
deeply grateful, I wish to push beyond the arguments I developed in The Shifting
Border to probe new ideas. Specifically, I wish to discuss five avenunes for exploration:
dethorning the state as the exclusive decisionmaker on migration; finding the tools to alle-
viate oppression in the criticized practices themselves; identifying rights and duty-
bearers; exposing the spatial dimension of structural injustice; and revisiting the role of
territory as mediating equality. I address each in turn.
Corresponding author:
Ayelet Shachar, Professorof Law , Political Science & Global Affairs, R.F. Harney Chair in Ethnic, Immigration
and Pluralism Studies, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, Faculty of Law University of Toronto,
Canada.
Email: ayelet.shachar@utoronto.ca
Symposium on Shachar’sThe Shifting Border
European Journal of Political Theory
2022, Vol. 21(3) 615–623
© The Author(s) 2022
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DOI: 10.1177/14748851221077564
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