CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2024
| Author | Castro De Alencar, Camila |
|---|---|
| Title | Reframing the Migration Debate: Challenging the Assumption of the Negative Outcomes of Immigration |
| Summary | This thesis investigates the ethical justification of migration policies, focusing on the argument for open borders and its potential positive impact on host countries. The problem addressed is the widespread assumption that hosting migrants is something inherently undesirable (and which then requires justification). This work aims to challenge that premise by demonstrating the benefits of open borders for the host countries citizens and not just for the migrants that reap the gains of relocation. The methodology includes a review of political theory, covering the core arguments posed for closed and open borders, as well as the debate around the duties of the state towards its citizens and what that entails for the migration discussion. Empirical evidence on the economic, social, and cultural impacts of immigration are integrated to substantiate the argument and highlight that, if (a) states have a moral duty to act in the best interest of their citizens, (b) immigration provides significant net positive effects and (c) potential negative effects of migration can be mitigated effectively, then (d) states should be promoting immigration as a strategy to act in their fiduciary role towards its population. This thesis contributes to the political theory debate by proposing that some of the communitarian arguments for closed borders can be used to justify open borders, if one addresses the assumption of negative outcomes derived from immigration. |
| Supervisor | Miklosi, Zoltan |
| Department | Political Science MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2024/castro_camila.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2021, Central European University