’This is a penetrating analysis of the springs of human rights and human obligations. It is rigorously argued, and shows how refugees are treated as if they do not truly belong to the category of human beings whose human rights are relevant: that they are beyond the pale of the law. It shows the means by which refugees are unequal and unworthy of full recognition under (the) law.’ Julian Burnside, AO QC, Australia ’A significant contribution to the urgent debate about the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers by liberal states. A unique combination of practice and theory, this book embeds that treatment within a history of abuse and persecution and in a tradition of thought about the state, the nation, and human rights that is implicated in that abuse and persecution.’ Phillip Cole, University of the West of England, UK