In Search of the Ethics of Migration. The Discussion about Borders: Major Perspectives and Arguments

Abstract

The search of ethical principles for migration policy is on the agenda in many countries. There are heated discussions at both the international and national level regarding the nature and consequence of migration flows, the boundaries of responsibility, and the criteria used to determine who should and should not be allowed to enter the country. Usually such discussions are framed in terms of protecting moral values and are heavily saturated with terminology of ethics. Alongside the public sphere, interest in the topic is growing rapidly across a range of academic disciplines, from anthropology and psychology to sociology and economics. A broader range of issues are considered by philosophers, drawing above all on theories of ethics. Unfortunately, this topic is totally absent from Russian-language academic literature. This article seeks to compensate for this absence; the author provides an introduction to the ethical debates typically associated with migration. The focus is on the discussion in the academic literature as to whether or not the state has a moral right to exercise sovereign and discretionary control over immigration.