Abstract
The article aims to provide an extended reflection on Michael Howard’s (former
Leader of the British Conservative Party) 2005 pre-election speech on immigra-
tion, in order to expose the violence and ethical corruption embedded within the
political discourse and policies of immigration in Britain and elsewhere. It does
so by referring to the work of Jean-Luc Nancy regarding figures of immanentism
which, in the case of immigration control, function through the will to absolute
separation, technicism and the notion of mythical collective identity. As a
response to this problem of immanentism, the ethico-political thinking of Levinas
and Derrida is invoked in an attempt to stress upon the necessity of a politics of
generosity founded on ethical hospitality and total exposure to alterity rather
than self-enclosure and fear of otherness.
Leader of the British Conservative Party) 2005 pre-election speech on immigra-
tion, in order to expose the violence and ethical corruption embedded within the
political discourse and policies of immigration in Britain and elsewhere. It does
so by referring to the work of Jean-Luc Nancy regarding figures of immanentism
which, in the case of immigration control, function through the will to absolute
separation, technicism and the notion of mythical collective identity. As a
response to this problem of immanentism, the ethico-political thinking of Levinas
and Derrida is invoked in an attempt to stress upon the necessity of a politics of
generosity founded on ethical hospitality and total exposure to alterity rather
than self-enclosure and fear of otherness.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 259 - 273 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Journal for Cultural Research |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2006 |
