About the topic

“Borders have guards and the guards have guns. This is an obvious fact of political life but one that is easily hidden from view—at least from the view of those of us who are citizens of affluent Western democracies.” This observation by Joseph Carens points to a conflict between the widely accepted right of states to control migration and the claims of those who migrate. This conflict gives rise to a series of pressing moral and political questions: What are the arguments for and against closed and open borders? Do people not only have a right to emigrate but also a right to immigrate? How does the status of different categories of migrants – refugees, asylum-seekers, ‘economic’ and ‘cultural’ migrants – differ? If people have migrated, what kind of status should they get within their new political community? How should we understand the increasing proliferation and militarization of borders and the regimes of illegality/legality that they establish and enforce? What, finally, are the forms of political agency and of resistance available to those who migrate? These and related questions will be discussed during the summer school from a variety of philosophical perspectives.

Aim / objective

Participants in the autumn school will learn to use the conceptual and normative tools of political philosophy to discuss the concrete social and political challenges posed by migration. They will acquire knowledge of the major positions in moral and political philosophy on migration and learn to reflect on the relevance of the practice of migration for philosophical theorizing.

Lecturers

Bridget Anderson
Luara Ferracioli
Chandran Kukathas
Rainer Bauböck
Veit Bader
David Owen