There have never been more refugees, across the world from Myanmar to
Syria, than at this moment. Many more millions of refugees are likely
to be displaced by the effects of climate change. Why has politics
failed to produce adequate responses to these challenges, and not
heeded the lessons of refugee crises of the past? Are human rights and
international law, or more radically, the case for 'open borders',
sufficient to address them? Nathan Bell argues for nothing less than a
new concept of the political: that societies (liberal or not, in the
mode of the sovereign state or some other form) embrace an ethos of
responsibility for others, where the right to seek asylum becomes
foundational for politics itself. Such a proposal is at the antipodes
of Schmitt's friend-enemy distinction, such that hospitality and not
hostility forms the basis of political decision-making. This book
comprises two halves: the first establishes the theoretical basis of
the ethos of responsibility, with particular reference to the writings
of Hannah Arendt, Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida, while the
second half examines these theorists in the context of historical and
contemporary case studies. Finally, the book calls for a ‘politics
of hauntology’ in memory of the missing - those who might have been
rescued, and those yet to come, who are already among the disappeared.
In this urgent work, Bell demonstrates that a radical reconfiguration
of the understanding of politics is required in order to safeguard the
future and human dignity of stateless persons.
Les mer
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781786614209
Publisert
2021
Utgiver
Vendor
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter