Alexander Brown

Biography

Alexander Brown received his PhD from the Department of Philosophy, University College London (UCL) (2005). He was a lecturer in political theory in the Department of Political Science at UCL (2005-9) before coming to UEA in September 2009. In 2018 he held a visiting post at the University of Queensland.

He Tweets (@iAlexanderBrown) and blogs (https://theconversation.com/profiles/alexander-brown-286590; http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/dr-alexander-brown)

He is the author of five research monographs:

The Politics of Hate Speech Laws (with Adriana Sinclair) (Routledge, 2019) - “This book examines the complex relationship between politics and hate speech laws, domestic and international. How do political contexts shape understandings of what hate speech is and how to deal with it? Why do particular states enact hate speech laws and then apply, extend or reform them in the ways they do? What part does hate speech play in international affairs? Why do some but not all states negotiate, agree and ratify international hate speech frameworks or instruments? What are some of the best and worst political arguments for and against hate speech laws? Do political figures have special moral duties to refrain from hate speech? Should the use of hate speech by political figures be protected by parliamentary privilege? Should this sort of hyperpolitical hate speech be subject to the laws of the land, civil and criminal? Or should it instead be handled by parliamentary codes of conduct and procedures or even by political parties themselves? What should the codes of conduct look like? Brown and Sinclair answer these important and overlooked questions on the politics of hate speech laws, providing a substantial body of new evidence, insights, arguments, theories and practical recommendations. The primary focus is on the UK and the US but several other country contexts are also explored and compared in detail, including: Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, India, China, Japan, Turkey, Germany, Hungary, and Italy. Methodologically, the two authors draw on approaches and concepts from a range of academic disciplines, including: law and legal theory, political theory, applied ethics, political science and sociology, international relations theory and international law.” – Book blurb

A Theory of Legitimate Expectations for Public Administration (Oxford University Press, 2017) - "Brown accepts that legitimate expectations can arise from many sources but collapses them into four key ones. These are expectations inadvertently caused by officials, those negligently caused, those intentionally caused and those caused somehow by bad faith. The common theme in these different categories is responsibility. One of Brown’s key arguments is that the role of officials and agencies in causing an expectation is a key reason why they should be legally bound by what they have caused. [...] Brown makes a cogent argument that lawyers, courts and the intricate principles they have fashioned for legitimate expectations have gotten in the way of fairness." - Matthew Groves, Deakin Law School

Hate Speech Law: A Philosophical Examination (Routledge, 2015) - "Brown is absolutely right to emphasize the plurality of types of regulation, argumentation and hate speech; he is also spot on in stressing that different arguments are better suited to different types of regulation and/or hate speech. The book also brings disparate literatures into fruitful contact. For these reasons, I definitely recommend it." - Mary Kate McGowan, Wellesley College

Personal responsibility: Why it Matters (Continuum, 2009) - “This is clear, comprehensive, original and engagingly written study of the role responsibility might play in our moral and political lives.” - Jonathan Wolff, University College London

Ronald Dworkin’s Theory of Equality: Domestic and Global Perspectives (Palgrave, 2009) - “Packed with arguments and insights, this excellent adaptation of Dworkin's equality of resources to the global sphere is a welcome addition to the growing literature on global distributive justice, and will be sure to excite wide-ranging discussion and criticism.” - Andrea Sangiovanni, King's College, London

He is also the author of numerous articles and chapters on issues of free speech, equality, personal responsibility, and legitimate expectations, some of which have been published in the following international peer-reviewed journals: Journal of Political Philosophy; Law and Philosophy; Politics, Philosophy, and Economics; European Journal of Political Theory; Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy; Journal of Applied Philosophy; Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence; Alabama Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Law Review; Rethinking Marxism; Social Theory and Practice; Ethical Theory and Moral Practice; Res Publica; British Journal for the History of Philosophy; Public Reason; Human Rights Review; Journal of Philosophy of Education; Imprints; Ethical Perspectives; Journal of African American Studies.

Career

Visiting Scholar at the University of Queensland (2018)

Reader in Political and Legal Theory, in the School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies, UEA (2017-)

Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Social and Political Theory, in the School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies, UEA (2014-17)

Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Social and Political Theory, in the School of Political, Social and International Studies, UEA (2012-14)

Lecturer in Contemporary Social and Political Theory, in the School of Political, Social and International Studies, UEA (2009-2012)

Lecturer in Political Theory, in the Department of Political Science, UCL (2005-9)

Academic Background

PhD in Political Philosophy, UCL (2005)

MA in Philosophy, UCL (1997)

BSocSci in Political Science and Philosophy, University of Birmingham (1996)

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