Refugees and the Limits of Political Philosophy

TY - JOUR

T1 - Refugees and the Limits of Political Philosophy

AU - Fine, Sarah Jane

PY - 2020/3/29

Y1 - 2020/3/29

N2 - Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution, but in practice many people seek asylum and do not find it. Where asylum is in short supply, it may seem obvious and reasonable for philosophers to ask whether we can identify principles for prioritizing the asylum claims of some over those of others. In this paper I consider what kind of question this is, and whether it is one that philosophers are in a good position to address. I argue that philosophers have a number of powerful reasons to approach it with serious caution, and even to avoid it altogether. I outline some potential pitfalls of answering it, including the risk of normalizing violations of the principle of non-refoulement.

AB - Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution, but in practice many people seek asylum and do not find it. Where asylum is in short supply, it may seem obvious and reasonable for philosophers to ask whether we can identify principles for prioritizing the asylum claims of some over those of others. In this paper I consider what kind of question this is, and whether it is one that philosophers are in a good position to address. I argue that philosophers have a number of powerful reasons to approach it with serious caution, and even to avoid it altogether. I outline some potential pitfalls of answering it, including the risk of normalizing violations of the principle of non-refoulement.

KW - Refugees

KW - asylum

KW - non-ideal theory

KW - philosophy

KW - principle of non-refoulement

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85082625694&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/16544951.2020.1735017

DO - 10.1080/16544951.2020.1735017

M3 - Article

SN - 1654-4951

VL - 13

SP - 6

EP - 20

JO - Ethics and Global Politics

JF - Ethics and Global Politics

IS - 1

ER -