Henry Farrell and Abraham L. Newman Named Winners of 2019 Chicago-Kent College of Law/Roy C. Palmer Civil Liberties Prize

The 2019 Chicago-Kent College of Law/Roy C. Palmer Civil Liberties Prize has been awarded to Henry Farrell and Abraham L. Newman for their book, Of Privacy and Power- The Transatlantic Struggle over Freedom and Security (Princeton University Press 2019). The annual prize honors exemplary works of scholarship exploring the tension between civil liberties and national security in contemporary American society.

In Of Privacy and Power, Farrell and Newman examine the disputes between the United States and European Union in regulating privacy and security, and how the politics of freedom, security and surveillance have reshaped the transatlantic relationship. While the struggle between these major regulatory powers has traditionally been viewed as state to state, the authors argue that the real conflict involves transnational coalitions of pro-civil liberties and pro-security actors. These communities of actors include security agencies, interior ministries, privacy NGOs, bureaucrats, and others, who have applied new strategies to the politics surrounding privacy and security discussions.

Farrell is professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University and is also the author of The Political Economy of Trust. Newman is professor of government in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. His books include Voluntary Disruptions and Protectors of Privacy. Farrell and Newman will present Of Privacy and Power at Chicago-Kent next year.

The Palmer Prize was established in 2007 by Chicago-Kent alumnus Roy C. Palmer and his wife, Susan M. Palmer. Palmer, a lawyer and real estate developer, was a 1962 honors graduate of Chicago-Kent and a member of its board of advisors. He received the Chicago-Kent Alumni Association’s 2012 Distinguished Service Award and was named by the law school in 2013 as one of “125 Alumni of Distinction.” With his wife, Susan, Palmer was active in numerous civic, social and philanthropic organizations. He died in February 2017.