Overview

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.

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9781538179871

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Reviews

In his search for a radical rethinking of what constitutes politics, Nathan Bell draws our attention to the failure of politics fuelled by forgetfulness and loss. Drawing on the work of Levinas, Arendt, and others, he fashions an original and compelling case that identifies asylum as fundamental to the meaning of politics. A profound account that forces us to confront our complicity in a world of current injustice. -- Michelle Boulous Walker, associate professor in philosophy, University of Queensland Bell is a crucial voice in the debate about the nature of asylum. By bringing together the work of some of the most important philosophers from the European continental tradition, such as Arendt, Derrida and Levinas, with illuminating case studies, Bell shows us how we can develop an ethos of responsibility for refugees. It is an important book for anyone seeking to understand continental philosophy and our obligations to refugees. -- Serena Parekh, associate professor of philosophy, Northeastern University RU147: NATHAN BELL ON REFUGEES: TOWARDS A POLITICS OF RESPONSIBILITY: http://www.renderingunconscious.org/politics/ru147-nathan-bell-on-refugees-towards-a-politics-of-responsibility/ * Rendering Unconscious *

Author Information

Nathan Bell is lecturer at Monash University, where he teaches in the School of Historical, Philosophical and International Studies (SOPHIS). He has published several articles on the politics of asylum and his research focus is a combination of political theory and continental philosophy.

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