Thom Brooks

Thom Brooks
Thom Brooks
Born	Thomas Brooks; October 14, 1973 (age 53); New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Other names	Thom Brooks
Occupation(s)	Political philosopher, legal scholar, professor
Years active	2004–present
Known for	Professor of Law and Government at Durham Law School; founding Editor of the Journal of Moral Philosophy; research on criminal justice and sentencing theory
Notable work	"Publishing Guide for Graduate Students", "The 'Life in the United Kingdom' Citizenship Test: Is It Unfit for Purpose?", "New Arrivals: A Fair Immigration System for Labour"

Thomas "Thom" Brooks (born 14 October 1973) holds dual American and British nationality and is a distinguished political philosopher and legal scholar. He currently serves as Professor of Law and Government at Durham Law School, Durham University, while also maintaining associate affiliations with the Department of Philosophy and the School of Government and International Affairs.

Early life and education

Born on 14 October 1973 in New Haven, Connecticut, Brooks grew up in Guilford, Connecticut. He attended Xavier High School, a private Catholic institution for boys located in Middletown, Connecticut. Between 1992 and 1997, he completed undergraduate studies at William Paterson University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in music and political science. Subsequently, he obtained a Master of Arts in political science from Arizona State University in 1999, followed by an MA in philosophy with first-class honours from University College Dublin in 2000. Beginning in 2001, Brooks undertook doctoral research in philosophy at the University of Sheffield, under the guidance of Robert Stern and Leif Wenar, culminating in his PhD awarded in 2004 for his dissertation entitled Taking the System Seriously: Themes in Hegel's Philosophy of Right.

Academic career

Brooks launched his academic profession as a lecturer specializing in political thought at Newcastle University from 2004 until 2007. During this period, he also held a visiting fellowship at the Centre for Ethics, Philosophy and Public Affairs at the University of St Andrews (2004–2005). In 2007, he advanced to the position of reader in political and legal philosophy. From 2010 to 2012, he was a visiting fellow at both the Faculty of Philosophy and St John's College at the University of Oxford. His publication, "Publishing Guide for Graduate Students," offers practical advice addressing common obstacles faced by researchers in the humanities and social sciences aiming to publish their work.

In 2012, Brooks joined Durham Law School, part of Durham University, as a reader in law with an associate role within its Philosophy Department. Two years later, he was promoted to Professor of Law and Government and took on leadership as Director of the Centre for Criminal Law and Criminal Justice from 2014 to 2016. In 2015, he was appointed visiting fellow at Yale Law School. On 1 August 2016, Brooks became head and the inaugural Dean of Durham Law School. During his tenure as Dean, he introduced courses on Chinese law into both LLB and LLM curricula, along with establishing the UK's first English-language summer school on Chinese law outside Asia. His deanship concluded in December 2021. Additionally, Brooks served as President of the Society of Legal Scholars between 2020 and 2021.

Research and contributions

In 2013, Brooks authored a critical assessment report on the United Kingdom’s revised citizenship test, titled "The 'Life in the United Kingdom test': Is It Unfit for Purpose?". He argued that the test failed its objectives by prioritizing British cultural knowledge over practical information.

Brooks’s extensive scholarship covers criminal justice and sentencing theory. His development of a "unified theory of punishment" earned recognition as one of the top 100 Big Ideas for the Future by RCUK. He has written three books, edited two major reports along with 23 collections, and contributed more than 130 articles plus over 150 opinion columns. Notably, his research played a role in influencing the Connecticut Supreme Court’s landmark 2015 ruling to abolish capital punishment in State v. Santiago (Santiago II).

In 2015, Brooks was cited by the Electoral Commission (United Kingdom) to support recommended changes to wording on the ballot paper for the EU Referendum, advocating use of "Remain" and "Leave," terminology later adopted by the UK Government.

He is frequently sought after by media outlets to comment on issues related to migration policy across television, radio, and print platforms. His expertise has been featured in interviews conducted by prominent journalists including Andrew Marr.

Brooks is founding Editor of the Journal of Moral Philosophy, which he established during his doctoral studies and managed from 2003 until 2012. Furthermore, he acts as an Advisory Editor for the University of Bologna Law Review, a student-run law journal published by the University of Bologna.

Personal life

Since 2011, Brooks has held dual citizenship in both the United States and the United Kingdom. His insights on the UK citizenship examination are often referenced during Parliamentary discussions, positioning him as a foremost expert in this field.

He is affiliated with the British Labour Party and is an active member of the UNISON trade union, engaging extensively in debates surrounding immigration policy. Brooks has historically backed New Labour and Tony Blair, supported Liz Kendall during the 2015 Labour leadership race, and consistently promotes cohesion within the party. Additionally, he is a prominent advocate of Labour Leader Keir Starmer. In 2022, Brooks authored a Fabian Society pamphlet titled New Arrivals: A Fair Immigration System for Labour, which outlines a post-Brexit points-based immigration framework; this work earned the Fabian Society's Jenny Jeger Prize.

Brooks frequently contributes opinion pieces on immigration topics to leading newspapers such as The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent, LabourList, and The Times.

Honours

Brooks was named a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) in 2009. The following year, he was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS). In 2012, he attained fellowship with the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), and in 2014, he was recognized as a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). By 2018, Brooks had become an Academic Bencher at the Honourable Society of Inner Temple. Most recently, in 2021, he was elected to membership in the Academia Europaea.

Selected works

Rousseau and Law (2005, Ashgate)
The Legacy of John Rawls (2005, Continuum)
Hegel's Political Philosophy: A Systematic Reading of the Philosophy of Right (1st ed. 2007, Edinburgh University Press)
The Global Justice Reader (2008, Blackwell)
The Right to a Fair Trial (2009, Ashgate)
New Waves in Ethics (2010, Palgrave Macmillan)
Ethics and Moral Philosophy (2011, Brill)
Hegel's Philosophy of Right (2012, Wiley-Blackwell)
Punishment (2012, Routledge)
Hegel's Political Philosophy: A Systematic Reading of the Philosophy of Right (2nd ed. 2013, Edinburgh University Press)
The 'Life in the United Kingdom' Citizenship Test: Is It Unfit for Purpose? (2013, Durham University report)
Just War Theory (2013, Brill)
Ethical Citizenship: British Idealism and the Politics of Recognition (2014, Palgrave Macmillan)
Alcohol and Public Policy (2014, Routledge)
New Waves in Global Justice (2014, Palgrave Macmillan)
Sentencing (2014, Ashgate)
A Practical Guide to Living in the United Kingdom: A Report (2015, Durham University)
Rawls's Political Liberalism (2015, Columbia University Press; co-edited with Martha C. Nussbaum)
Current Controversies in Political Philosophy (2015, Routledge)
Becoming British: UK Citizenship Examined (2016, Biteback Publishing)
Hegel's Political Philosophy: On the Normative Significance of Method and System (2017, Oxford University Press; co-edited with Sebastian Stein)
Plato's The Republic (2019, South Asia Press)
The Oxford Handbook of Global Justice (2020, Oxford University Press)
Climate Change Ethics for an Endangered World (2020, Routledge)
Punishment: A Critical Introduction, 2nd edition (2021, Routledge)
Political Emotions: Towards a Decent Public Sphere (2022, Palgrave Macmillan)
The Trust Factor: Essays on the Current Crisis and Hope for the Future (2022, Methuen)
New Arrivals: A Fair Immigration Plan for Labour (2022, Fabian Society)
Reforming the UK's Citizenship Test: Building Bridges, Not Barriers (2022, Bristol University Press)
"Hegel’s Social and Political Philosophy" in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2025)

External links