Tamir Moustafa receives Lasting Contribution Award

Tamir Moustafa has received the Lasting Contribution Award from the Law & Courts Section of American Political Science Association (APSA). Moustafa, a professor of International Studies and Stephen Jarislowsky Chair at SFU, is being honored in recognition of his first book The Struggle for Constitutional Power: Law, Politics, and Economic Development in Egypt.

The book is the result of Moustafa’s first major project which focused on the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court, and the politics of courts in authoritarian regimes more generally. The APSA Lasting Contribution Award from the Law & Courts Section is presented annually to a book or journal article written at least a decade ago that has made a lasting impression on the field of law and courts.

In an article by the Law and Society Association Moustafa says: “There was a time when the study of law in authoritarian states raised eyebrows at APSA. I remember awkward conversations at APSA receptions in the 1990s when senior scholars wondered if there was anything to study at all. So, I’m especially honored that the Law and Courts Section saw my book fit for the Lasting Achievement Award.”

Professor Moustafa’s current research explores the public debates that are generated as a result of dual constitutional commitments to Islamic law and liberal rights in Egypt and Malaysia. In both countries, constitutional provisions enshrining Islamic law and liberal rights lay the seeds for legal friction, and courtrooms serve as important sites of contention between groups with competing visions for their states and societies.

He has held visiting fellowships at UC Berkeley, Princeton University, and Harvard Law School and was named a Carnegie Scholar in 2007 for his work on Islamic law and liberal rights.