Ethics of migration policies

Migration asks an important question to liberal democracy. What should prevail : the collective right to self-determination (including the right to exclude foreigners to ensure that the political communities are historically stable) or the individual freedoms (including the freedom to move abroad to seek for better life prospects) ? This overarching question has many ramifications. Can States justify coercive acts like the control and sometimes the return of migrants ? Is hospitality merely a moral virtue or can it be turned into an actual set of migration policies ? Are there any principles of justice that can apply to the phenomenon of migration ?

This class addresses those questions at 2 levels.

First, it delves into the theoretical debates currently raging amongst political theorists and moral philosophers regarding the ethics of migration.

Second, it fleshes out this debate by exploring the migration regime being set up by the European Union. The European Union recently became a major actor in migration policies. This evolution has revealed some fault lines amongst the member States and has also sparked some fierce public controversies. We will ask ourselves how a polity based on a principle of supranational integration has converted itself into one of the most exclusive migration regime in the world.

By the end of this class, each student should:

- have an in-depth understanding of the normative debates surrounding migration issues
- have expert knowledge regarding the current migration policies of the European Union

Required and Corequired knowledge and skills

There is no formal requirement to attend this class. But students who have never attended a class about political theory (or political philosophy or the history of political ideas) or about the politics of the European Union may find its content challenging.

This class is made of a series of 12 lectures taught by its professor.

If the number of students allows it, students will be asked to participate in different ways : introducing the various scientific articles covered in the class, discussing critically some the current EU migration policies, debating with their fellow students about the ethical consequences of political decision-making with regards to migration, etc.

References, bibliography, and recommended reading

The slides recapping the main arguments made during the lectures will be made available on the webpage for this course on the UV. A portfolio of the texts and scientific articles covered during the lectures will also be uploaded on the UV.

Course notes

• Université virtuelle

Contacts

Martin DELEIXHE - martin.deleixhe@ulb.be

Campus

Solbosch

Method(s) of evaluation

• written examination

written examination

• Open question with developed answer

Written exam about the content of the course, without the support of any written material.

Mark calculation method (including weighting of intermediary marks)

Written exam = 100% of the final grade.

Language(s) of evaluation

• english
• (if applicable french )