The Ethics of Refugee Policy

by Boswell,Christina

• ISBN13: 9780754645191
• ISBN10: 0754645193
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-12-28
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

What duties do liberal democratic states owe to refugees? Does international refugee law impose unfeasible demands on states? This highly original contribution explores what theories of international ethics have to say about refugee policy. It advances an innovative critique of prevalent liberal approaches, showing how their assumptions about moral agency create unfeasible expectations about international justice. It sets out an alternative theory, showing how this could be more adept at mobilizing commitment to refugee rights. The volume will be of interest not just to scholars and students of applied ethics, but also to those more generally interested in debates on refugee and migration policy. It presents a clear and thorough discussion of liberal political theory and its application to questions of international justice, and provides insights into the philosophical sources of debates on liberal versus restrictive approaches to refugee policy.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Introduction	1	(14)
The Origins of the Crisis in Refugee Policy	15	(20)
Liberal Universalism and the Problem of Feasibility	35	(22)
Thin Universalism and the Problem of Internal Coherence	57	(18)
Social Contract Theory and Moral Motivation	75	(26)
The Role of Reason in Moral Motivation	101	(24)
Community and Universal Duties	125	(20)
Mobilising Commitment to Refugee Rights	145	(16)
Bibliography	161	(10)
Index	171