Artikel

Ethische dimensies van het asielvraagstuk: democratie en universaliteit

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Abstract

Ethical dimensions of the asylum problem : democracy and universality - In principle the current practice of granting asylum constitutes the appeal of a ’foreign’ individual versus a ’state’, a political-administrative institution that sees itself as the representative of the sovereign will of a ’nation’. The doctrine of sovereignty grants states the ’legal’ right to admit or refuse aliens access to their territory. Obviously the relevant ’moral’ right is one that needs further elaboration. Moreover, the political approach to refugees and the meaning of their legal and social status cannot be separated from the philosophical foundations of the modern state and the central role taken by the paradigm of nationality in it. From an ethical point of view the primary question is on what rational grounds and to what extent democratic states are morally obliged to allow refugees to reside on their territory and to guarantee them basic constitutional and social rights. This difficult question confronts western democracies with the scope they are prepared to give to their own universal principles concerning human equality, liberty and dignity.

How to Cite:

Coene, G., (1997) “Ethische dimensies van het asielvraagstuk: democratie en universaliteit”, Tijdschrift voor Sociale Wetenschappen 42(3), 249–269. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/tvsw.95274