Description
'The Way Out: Justice in the Queer Search for Refuge' (University of California Press, 2026) offers a radical rethinking of the fundamentals of refuge, protection, and justice through the lens of queer and trans displacement. Rebecca Buxton and Samuel Ritholtz interrogate the moral and political foundations of international asylum systems, exposing how existing institutions fail to recognize the lived realities and relational harms experienced by LGBTQ+ individuals in situations of displacement. Against a backdrop of global institutional failure and rising illiberalism, the book challenges us to revisit core assumptions about the “international” and its obligations. This roundtable brings together scholars to reflect on how 'The Way Out' revisits the foundational ideas of international protection: to secure dignity, safety, and justice for the most marginalized. It asks how systems of refuge might be reimagined in light of the structural exclusions they produce, and how queer approaches can recenter global ethics on the needs of those at the edges of visibility and belonging. The authors will respond to the commentaries, opening a conversation about the place of justice for the queer and trans displaced in a world in crisis.
