A Theory of Refugee Camps: non-ideal conditions and normative prescriptions.

The ethics on refugees has predominantly focused on questions of admission. They have asked why and how many refugees the liberal democracies of the Global North should admit. Yet, most refugees reside in the Global South, many in refugee camps. The protracted nature of their situation (resettlement, repatriation, local integration being unavailable) has left theories on refugees with little to say about their situations. What can an applied ethics prescribe with regards to those refugees? The project argues that what we need is 1 a theory about the conditions pertaining in refugee camps, and 2 a better normative response aimed at improving their lives. Contrary to much scholarship, refugees are not only passive recipients of aid. What we can see in refugee camps is the development of distinct social, economic, legal and political systems, functioning according to their own rules and regulations. Refugees possess agency and encounter many problems that are not considered due to a narrow focus on the vulnerability of refugees. A non-ideal theory of the conditions in refugee camps allows us to offer different and feasible solutions. The project argues that one of these solutions is to democratize refugee camps. With the conditions in place, democratic institutions would go a long way in defending and upholding those basic rights that are currently so widely violated in the camps. The project positions the role refugee camps should play in a broken international refugee regime.

Keywords:Refugees, Refugee Camps, Migration, Political Philosophy, Ethics, Democratic theory

Disciplines:Political theory, Human rights and justice issues