BIOGRAPHY
Thom Brooks is Professor of Law and Government at Durham University’s Law School and its longest-serving Dean from 2016 to 2021 (with Associate Membership in the Philosophy Department and School of Government & International Affairs). He is the founding editor of the Journal of Moral Philosophy and serves on 20 editorial boards including Hegel Bulletin, Journal of Criminal Law, Journal of Global Ethics among others and 10 book series. He is a mentor and Senior Common Room member at University College, Durham and previously at Collingwood College, Durham.
Brooks is currently visiting at Yale Law School. He has held past visiting positions at the University of Chicago Law School, Columbia Law School, Harvard Law School, LUISS Guido Carli in Rome, New York University Centre for Bioethics, University of Nice (Cote d’Azur) Law School, University of Oxford Faculty of Philosophy (and St John’s College, Oxford), University of Pennsylvania Law School, University of St Andrews Department of Moral Philosophy, Uppsala University Department of Government and Yale Law School and has been a Senior Associate Research Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS) at the University of London. He worked previously at Newcastle University as Lecturer in Political Thought (2004-7) and Reader in Political and Legal Philosophy (2007-12).
SEE: THOM BROOKS’S CURRICULUM VITAE
AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS
Fellow, Royal Statistical Society, 2024
Jenny Jeger Prize, Fabian Society, 2022
Principal Fellow, Higher Education Academy, 2022
Elected Member, Academia Europaea, 2021
Who’s Who, 2018
Distinguished Alumni Award, School of Politics & Global Studies, Arizona State University, 2017
Debrett’s People of Today, 2015
Fellow, Higher Education Academy, 2014
Fellow, Royal Society of Arts, 2012
Fellow, Royal Historical Society, 2010
Fellow, Academy of Social Sciences, 2009
Graduate Essay Prize, Hegel Society of Great Britain, 2004
Professor Magennis Prize, Department of Philosophy, University College Dublin, 2000
Distinguished Student Award, William Paterson University of New Jersey, 1997
Pi Sigma Alpha, National Political Science Honor Society (USA), 1997
Third Place Prize, American Junior High School Mathematics Examination, American Mathematics Competitions, 1986
DURHAM UNIVERSITY AWARDS
Dean’s Award, Durham Law School, 2022
Excellence in Teaching and Learning Award, Durham University, 2016
Law Teacher of the Year, Durham Law School, 2015
Lecturer of the Year, Faculty of Social Sciences and Health, 2014
Outstanding Contributions to Media Award, Faculty of Social Sciences and Health, 2013
MAJOR PUBLICATIONS
Brooks recently published New Arrivals outlining a comprehensive post-Brexit points-based system for a Keir Starmer-led Labour government. It won the Fabian Society’s prestigious Jenny Jeger Prize for outstanding Fabian publication of the year, has policy ideas included in the Fabian Society’s recommended policies for Labour’s 2024 General Election manifesto and described by POLITICO as “the first major pamphlet on Labour’s immigration policy for over a decade.” His previous publications on citizenship and immigration include Becoming British (2016), described by Labour Party leader Keir Starmer MP as “a very good and thought-provoking read” and Reforming the UK’s Citizenship Test (2022) which contributed to a parliamentary inquiry by the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee and featured on television.
Brooks published a substantially revised and expanded second edition of his book Punishment (2012, 2nd ed 2021) launched in the Houses of Parliament. This work develops a new “unified theory” of punishment identified by Research Councils UK as one of the top 100 Big Ideas for the Future in British universities. John Gardner described this work in this way: “whose grasp of the literature and feel for the issues is second to none” and Rutgers’ Criminal Law & Criminal Justice book review said: “Thom Brooks’ Punishment is a rare thing: a book about a complex and important topic that is both of interest for experts and accessible to non-experts.” Brooks’s related work on capital punishment is quoted approvingly by the Connecticut Supreme Court in support of the “watershed” case State v. Santiago (Santiago II), 318 Conn. 1, 105 (2015) abolishing the death penalty in his native state.
His other major publications include Hegel’s Political Philosophy: A Systematic Reading of the Philosophy of Right (2007, 2nd ed 2013) that develops a new “systematic” approach to interpreting Hegel that is showcased in Hegel’s Political Philosophy: On the Normative Significance of Method and System (co-edited with Sebastian Stein). He is co-editor (with Martha C. Nussbaum) of Rawls’s Political Liberalism (2015) with contributors including Frank I. Michelman, Onora O’Neill, Jeremy Waldron, Paul Weithman, Nussbaum and Brooks described as ” leading political, moral, and legal theorists” in “this jewel of a collection”. Brooks has also published widely in the area of global justice, including The Oxford Handbook of Global Justice (2020), The Global Justice Reader (2008, rev ed 2023) and its companion Global Justice: An Introduction (2023) where his work is noted being a “pioneer” of cross-cultural “global” approach to global justice.
CURRENT PROJECTS
UK Immigration Law & Policy: Described as “a leading authority on immigration law and policy” and “the UK’s leading expert” on Britain’s the Life in the UK citizenship test, Brooks is the author of the only comprehensive report examining it (brief, report, video) and successfully advocated for the inclusion of British culture and history in the test. His recommendations have been supported by the House of Lords Select Committee on Citizenship and Civic Engagement (2018), the House of Lords Liaison Committee (2022) and the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee leading to an inquiry that examined issues raised in his work and adopting many of his recommendations for reforms. The Government confirmed it will produce a new fourth edition.
Brooks’s evidence is widely cited in the Law Commission’s review of a simplification of the Immigration Rules which was accepted by the Government that will lead to fundamental reforms. Brooks has contributed to reviews into the use of landing cards and border controls. His recently invited written evidence is cited with approval in the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee’s inquiry into the use of electronic border management systems, including the launch of Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs). Brooks is cited in the Committee’s conclusions and recommendations to Government.
Brooks is a member of the Office for National Statistics Government Statistical Migration Expert Group working with the Home Office, other key government departments and devolved administrations. His report Sea Change on Border Control about small boat crossings in the English Channel has been discussed in Parliament (and a video about the report seen over 6 million times). Brooks’s impactful research revealed the UK government were granting asylum to Rwandans while at the same time claiming Rwanda was safe for all asylum seekers arriving to Britain, whereas the government advocated all would be relocated to Rwanda. Brooks also uncovered that the UK was granting asylum to Americans. He currently works on reforming the wider immigration system as well as the Life in the UK test as part of an improved integration strategy. Brooks advised the award-winning BBC One drama Call the Midwife and the BBC One programme Rip Off Britain on immigration-related matters. He has also advised the UK’s Home Office on rolling out parts of its National Security Act 2022, which he was thanked in Parliament for his work supporting Labour about the Act.
Brooks is currently engaged in a project aiming to develop improvements in immigration processes through the use of artificial intelligence (AI & Immigration Law and Policy).
Crime and Punishment: Brooks has developed policies for tackling fraud and economic crime and better support for victims. He is currently writing on theories of punishment with interest in the historical development of what he’s coined ‘penal pluralism’ and its contemporary relevance. He was a member of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) North East Community Involvement Panel. Brooks has also supported the work of the UK’s Ministry of Justice (MOJ).
Philosophy & Public Policy: Brooks has broad interests in this area. His book The Trust Factor collects his columns and op-eds from over two decades covering major issues in American politics and British politics – and quoted in the House of Lords Queen’s Speech Debate in 2022. ITV News called him “the man behind Leave and Remain” after he was quoted by the Electoral Commission in its report on why the planned European Union Referendum should be reworded, which the Commission and David Cameron’s government accepted. He was a “Brexpert” on Brexit matters for the UK’s Sky News and USA’s CNN. His work supporting legal reforms has been noted, most recently in relation to the National Security Act. Brooks is currently under contract for a major new book on jurisprudence. He has given written and oral evidence to the Labour Party’s National Policy Forum. In 2024, he co-edited a book with Catherine Atkinson MP and David Drew British Legal Reform: An Agenda for Change (Policy Press) organized with the Society of Labour Lawyers with endorsements from the Solicitor General Sarah Sackman, former Attorney General Lord Falconer of Thoroton, Phillipe Sands KC and Patrick Diamond.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Brooks is Chair of the American Philosophical Association’s Committee on Public Philosophy (since 2023). He previously chairs its Committee on Philosophy and Law (2009-12), was an elected member of the Political Studies Association Executive Board (2006-9) and he was the 112th President of the of the Society of Legal Scholars (2020-21), the oldest and largest learned society for academic lawyers and the second in 112 years not British or Irish by birth to lead the organisation. During this time, he co-hosted an academic conference across several learned societies in law with the Law Commission to contribute to its 14th programme of law reform.
Brooks has served on the Fabian Society and Society of Labour Lawyers executive committees, both are Labour Party think tanks. He is an Academic Bencher of Inner Temple and former chair of the Academy of Finland Philosophy Panel and former trustee of the British Institute for International and Comparative Law (BIICL). He has supervised 9 PhD and 3 MJur students to completion. Brooks has 2,000+ media appearances since 2013 regularly appearing on television, radio or print.
Brooks was Durham’s longest serving Dean 2016 to 2021 and the only head of department to win three successive elections to be head of department. During this time, Durham Law School doubled in size, reached its highest QS World Ranking (40th) and National Student Survey results (93% overall satisfaction), achievements recognised in an Early Day Motion tabled in the House of Commons, the School received an Athena Swan Bronze Award, championed diversity vastly increasing students from low participation neighbourhoods and led a major rise in externally funded awards/prizes and student placements including launching a Leo Blair Prize for Advocacy with his son, former Prime Minister Tony Blair, and establishing an All-Party Parliamentary Group for friends of Durham University.
RECENT TALKS THIS YEAR
11-13 September 2025 Invited speaker; “The Philosophy of Right and wrong: Hegel on crime, transgression and injustice” conference; Max-Planck-Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and the Law; Freiburg, Germany.
February 2025 Invited commentator, American Philosophical Association–Central Division, USA.
16 January 2025 Invited speaker, on how academics can influence policy makers, Leeds Trinity University Law School, UK.
25 October 2024 Invited speaker, “Matters of Facts,” Responsibility and the Law Workshop, Department of Philosophy, Lund University, Sweden.
17 October 2024 Invited speaker; Extremism Threats Unit; Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government; UK.
19 September 2024 Invited speaker, on principled punishment and the use of penal principles in sentencing, Ministry of Justice Areas of Research Interest (MOJ ARI) Academic Seminars, Evidence & Partnership Hub, MOJ Analysis Directorate, Ministry of Justice, UK.
3-5 September 2024 Speaker, “Dean’s Dilemma: Rethinking Theory and Practice in the Law School,” Society of Legal Scholars annual conference, University of Bristol, UK.
21 June 2024 Invited keynote speaker, punitive restoration, Aarhus Centre for Conflict Management, Aarhus University, Denmark.
20 June 2024 Invited speaker, Royal Danish Society of Science and Letters, Copenhagen, Denmark.
6-7 June 2024 Keynote speaker, 10th Annual Equality and Citizenship Summer School, University of Rijeka, Croatia.
6 June 2024 Public lecture, Opatija Coffeehouse Debates, Croatia.
EDUCATION
Ph.D., University of Sheffield, Department of Philosophy
M.A., University College Dublin, School of Philosophy
M.A., Arizona State University, School of Politics and Global Studies
B.A. (dual major) William Paterson University of New Jersey, Departments of Music and of Political Science
Curriculum vitae (interactive).
