•  6
    How to Blow Up a Pipeline: by Andreas Malm, Polity, 2021 (review)
    Ethics, Policy and Environment 26 (2): 351-353. 2023.
    The central problem Andreas Malm’s engaging new book grapples with is the climate movement’s ongoing failure to bring about radical emissions cuts. New coal mines are still being built, and this su...
  •  9
    An urgent account of the state of our oceans today--and what we must do to protect them The ocean sustains life on our planet, from absorbing carbon to regulating temperatures, and, as we exhaust the resources to be found on land, it is becoming central to the global market. But today we are facing two urgent challenges at sea: massive environmental destruction and spiraling inequality in the ocean economy. Chris Armstrong reveals how existing governing institutions are failing to respond to the…Read more
  •  3
    Animal flourishing in a time of ecological crisis
    European Journal of Political Theory. forthcoming.
    Three new books by Martha Nussbaum, Jeff Sebo, and Mark Rowlands seek to raise the profile of non-human animals within political theory. They present a series of compelling arguments for making animal flourishing central to discussions about the future, especially in a time of ecological crisis. All three offer important insights into what a genuinely non-anthropocentric political theory could look like. But while they converge in some ways – for instance, all recommend serious restrictions on t…Read more
  •  27
    Which Net Zero? Climate Justice and Net Zero Emissions
    with Duncan McLaren
    Ethics and International Affairs 36 (4): 505-526. 2022.
    In recent years, the target of reaching “net zero” emissions by 2050 has come to the forefront of global climate politics. Net zero would see carbon emissions matched by carbon removals and should allow the planet to avoid dangerous climate change. But the recent prominence of this goal should not distract from the fact that there are many possible versions of net zero. Each of them will have different climate justice implications, and some of them could have very negative consequences for the w…Read more
  • Distributive institutions
    In Darrel Moellendorf & Heather Widdows (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Global Ethics, Routledge. 2014.
  •  41
    How to Blow Up a Pipeline How to Blow Up a Pipeline, by Andreas Malm, Polity, 2021
    Ethics, Policy and Environment 26 (2): 351-353. 2023.
    The central problem Andreas Malm’s engaging new book grapples with is the climate movement’s ongoing failure to bring about radical emissions cuts. New coal mines are still being built, and this su...
  •  7
    Abuse, Exploitation, and Floating Jurisdiction: Protecting Workers at Sea
    Journal of Political Philosophy 30 (1): 3-25. 2020.
    Journal of Political Philosophy, Volume 30, Issue 1, Page 3-25, March 2022.
  •  17
    Domestic institutions, growth and global justice
    European Journal of Political Theory 22 (1): 4-25. 2023.
    According to one prominent theory of development, a country’s wealth is primarily explained by the quality of its institutions. Leaning on that view, several political theorists have defended two normative conclusions. The first is that we have no reason for concern, from the point of view of justice, if some countries have greater natural resource endowments than others. The second is that proposals for redistribution across borders are likely to be superfluous. Advocates of global redistributi…Read more
  •  8
    A Reply to My Critics
    Global Justice : Theory Practice Rhetoric 13 (1): 115-137. 2021.
    It is a real pleasure to reply to so many thoughtful and probing responses to my book. In what follows, I will focus on six key themes that emerge across the various pieces. Some of them call into question core commitments of my theory, and in those cases I will try to show what might be said in its defence. Quite a number of the critics, however, present what we might call expansionist arguments: though they endorse some of the arguments I make, that is – or pick up some of its key concepts – t…Read more
  •  21
    Domestic institutions, growth and global justice
    European Journal of Political Theory 22 (1): 4-25. 2023.
    According to one prominent theory of development, a country’s wealth is primarily explained by the quality of its institutions. Leaning on that view, several political theorists have defended two normative conclusions. The first is that we have no reason for concern, from the point of view of justice, if some countries have greater natural resource endowments than others. The second is that proposals for redistribution across borders are likely to be superfluous. Advocates of global redistributi…Read more
  •  10
    Complex equality: Beyond equality and difference
    Feminist Theory 3 (1): 67-82. 2002.
    Equality has become a highly controversial concept within feminism, not least because standard egalitarian accounts have been accused of neglecting both difference and also issues of real concern to feminists, such as the structure of the `domestic' sphere, contexts of power, and responsibility for domestic work. Michael Walzer's theory of `complex equality' promises a commitment to equality that deploys a much broader analytical focus, and yet is sensitive to difference. As such, it merits atte…Read more
  •  22
    Land, resources, and inequality
    Journal of Social Philosophy 52 (1): 10-16. 2020.
    Journal of Social Philosophy, Volume 52, Issue 1, Page 10-16, Spring 2021.
  •  23
    Abuse, Exploitation, and Floating Jurisdiction: Protecting Workers at Sea
    Journal of Political Philosophy 30 (1): 3-25. 2020.
    Journal of Political Philosophy, EarlyView.
  •  12
    Ocean justice: SDG 14 and beyond
    Journal of Global Ethics 16 (2): 239-255. 2020.
    The ocean is central to our lives, but many of our impacts on the ocean are highly unsustainable, and patterns of resource exploitation at sea are deeply inequitable. This article assesses whether the objectives encapsulated in the UN's Sustainable Development Goal for the ocean are well equipped to respond to these challenges. It will argue that the approach underpinned by the SDG 14 is largely compatible, unfortunately, with ‘business as usual’. SDG 14 is undoubtedly intended as a starting poi…Read more
  •  24
    Ocean justice: SDG 14 and beyond
    Journal of Global Ethics 16 (2): 239-255. 2020.
    The ocean is central to our lives, but many of our impacts on the ocean are highly unsustainable, and patterns of resource exploitation at sea are deeply inequitable. This article assesses whether the objectives encapsulated in the UN's Sustainable Development Goal for the ocean are well equipped to respond to these challenges. It will argue that the approach underpinned by the SDG 14 is largely compatible, unfortunately, with ‘business as usual’. SDG 14 is undoubtedly intended as a starting poi…Read more
  •  28
    Dealing with Dictators
    Journal of Political Philosophy 28 (3): 307-331. 2019.
    Journal of Political Philosophy, EarlyView.
  •  66
    While many are born into prosperity, hundreds of millions of people lead lives of almost unimaginable poverty. Our world remains hugely unequal, with our place of birth continuing to exert a major influence on our opportunities. In this accessible book, leading political theorist Chris Armstrong engagingly examines the key moral and political questions raised by this stark global divide. Why, as a citizen of a relatively wealthy country, should you care if others have to make do with less? Do we…Read more
  •  15
    A number of hugely valuable natural resources fall outside of the borders of any nation state. We can legitimately expect political theory to make a contribution to thinking through questions about the future of these extraterritorial resources. However, the debate on the proper allocation of rights over these resources remains relatively embryonic. This paper will bring together what have often been rather scattered discussions of rights over extraterritorial resources. It will first sketch som…Read more
  •  545
    Against ‘permanent sovereignty’ over natural resources
    Politics, Philosophy and Economics 14 (2): 129-151. 2015.
    The doctrine of permanent sovereignty over natural resources is a hugely consequential one in the contemporary world, appearing to grant nation-states both jurisdiction-type rights and rights of ownership over the resources to be found in their territories. But the normative justification for that doctrine is far from clear. This article elucidates the best arguments that might be made for permanent sovereignty, including claims from national improvement of or attachment to resources, as well as…Read more
  •  113
    Review Article: Arguing about Justice
    European Journal of Political Theory 9 (3): 367-375. 2010.
  •  39
    Struggles over precious resources such as oil, water, and land are increasingly evident in the contemporary world. States, indigenous groups, and corporations vie to control access to those resources, and the benefits they provide. These conflicts are rapidly spilling over into new arenas, such as the deep oceans and the Polar regions. How should these precious resources be governed, and how should the benefits and burdens they generate be shared? Justice and Natural Resources provides a system…Read more
  •  16
    Parity of Participation and the Politics of Status
    European Journal of Political Theory 8 (1): 109-122. 2009.
    Over the past decade, Nancy Fraser has developed a sophisticated theory of social justice. At its heart lies the principle of parity of participation, according to which all adult members of society must be in a position to interact with one another as peers. This article examines some obstacles to the implementation of that principle. Concentrating on the contemporary status order, it asks two specific questions. Is it possible to produce a precise account of how the status order might need to …Read more
  •  69
    Citizenship, egalitarianism and global justice
    Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 14 (5): 603-621. 2011.
    Many of the foremost defenders of distributive egalitarianism hold that its scope should be limited to co-citizens. But this bracketing of distributive equality exclusively to citizens turns out to be very difficult to defend. Pressure is placed on it, for instance, when we recognize its vulnerability to ?extension arguments? which attempt to cast the net of egalitarian concern more widely. The paper rehearses those arguments and also examines some ? ultimately unsuccessful ? responses which ?ci…Read more
  •  453
    Fairness, Free-Riding and Rainforest Protection
    Political Theory 44 (1): 106-130. 2016.
    If dangerous climate change is to be avoided, it is vital that carbon sinks such as tropical rainforests are protected. But protecting them has costs. These include opportunity costs: the potential economic benefits which those who currently control rainforests have to give up when they are protected. But who should bear those costs? Should countries which happen to have rainforests within their territories sacrifice their own economic development, because of our broader global interests in prot…Read more
  •  96
    Basic needs, equality and global justice
    Journal of Global Ethics 5 (3). 2009.
    A review essay of Gillian Brock Global Justice: A Cosmopolitan Account (Oxford University Press, 2009)
  •  37
    Shared understandings, collective autonomy, and global equality
    Ethics and Global Politics 4 (1): 51-69. 2011.
    The political theorist Michael Walzer has usually been taken as an opponent of global distributive justice, on the basis that it is incompatible with collective autonomy, would endanger cultural diversity, or simply on the basis that principles of global distributive justice cannot be coherently envisaged, given cross-cultural disagreement about the nature and value of the social goods that might be distributed. However in his recent work, Walzer demonstrates a surprising degree of sympathy for …Read more