Katharina Natter receives IMR Book Review Award
Katharina Natter of the Institute of Political Science has been awarded the 2025 IMR Book Review Award for her book on migration politics in Morocco and Tunisia.
Natter is Senior Assistant Professor at the Institute of Political Science of Leiden University, and has been awarded the International Migration Review (IMR) Book Review Award 2025 for her book The Politics of Immigration Beyond Liberal States: Morocco and Tunisia in Comparative Perspective (Cambridge University Press). The award is presented annually by the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) and International Migration Review for an exceptional contribution to the field.
Comments from the jury
According to the jury, the book is 'a conceptually ambitious and empirically grounded study that makes a major contribution to the field of migration studies [and] will be of enduring value to scholars across disciplines.' Through a comparison of Morocco and Tunisia, Natter challenges prevailing assumptions about the relationship between regime type and migration policy and introduces the notion of an “illiberal paradox.” The work traces policy developments from the colonial period to the post-Arab Spring era, demonstrating how migration governance is embedded in broader processes of state-building, foreign policy, and identity formation.
About Katharina Natter
In her work, Natter examines migration politics from a comparative perspective, with a particular focus on the role of political regimes in immigration policy and the links between migration policy theory, modern state formation, and political change. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in Morocco and Tunisia, and has also worked on the relationship between knowledge and power in European migration policy. Alongside her academic work, Natter has been involved with the NGO Asylos since 2011 and serves on its board.