Global displacement and the topography of theory

In this essay, I examine the concept of the refugee within the context of liberal political theory. The argument is that the refugee is displaced both in political practice and political theory - theory has a topology, and inside and an outside, such that even if the refugee as a concept does enter...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Cole, Phillip (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group [2016]
In: Journal of global ethics
Year: 2016, Volume: 12, Issue: 3, Pages: 260-268
Further subjects:B Theory
B Refugees
B Displacement
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Description
Summary:In this essay, I examine the concept of the refugee within the context of liberal political theory. The argument is that the refugee is displaced both in political practice and political theory - theory has a topology, and inside and an outside, such that even if the refugee as a concept does enter within its boundaries it does so as a marginal figure, constructed as problematic. However, liberal political also has a topography when it comes to the refugee question - it is not just insider theory, but theory constructed within a particular kind of state in a particular location in the world. This means the extent to which liberal political theory can answer the refugee question is limited. The main challenge for theory, I argue, is not to come up with an answer to the refugee question, but to construct a context within which the refugee (broadly defined) is an equal participant in the process of arriving at an answer.
ISSN:1744-9634
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of global ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/17449626.2016.1247745