Krause, Monika 
ORCID: 0000-0002-8699-5496
(2008)
Undocumented migrants: an Arendtian perspective.
European Journal of Political Theory, 7 (3).
pp. 331-348.
ISSN 1474-8851
Abstract
The number of people without rights of residence or work in the territory of Western Europe's nation states is growing. In official representations of political life this group is commonly 'symbolically eliminated' or taken up by an increasingly hostile discourse on 'illegal immigrants' and 'international terrorism'. This article explores what a rereading of the work of Hannah Arendt can contribute to the analytical task of giving an alternative meaning to the presence of this group. Arendt opens up new ways of thinking and acting in view of the present situation. She shows us the rightless migrant as subject to a very specific form of domination - total domination. With Arendt we can see the migrant also as an emblematic philosophical figure, whose status exposes the contradiction of state-centred citizenship and the discourse of human rights. Lastly, the migrant comes into view as a potential political actor; protests by sans papiers become visible as sites of active citizenship.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Official URL: | http://ept.sagepub.com/ |
| Additional Information: | © 2008 The Author(s) |
| Divisions: | Sociology |
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) H Social Sciences > HM Sociology J Political Science > JC Political theory |
| Date Deposited: | 28 Nov 2016 07:59 |
| Last Modified: | 11 Dec 2024 23:27 |
| URI: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/68388 |
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