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9780199370429 English 0199370427 There have been remarkable developments in the field of human rights in the past few decades. Still, millions of asylum-seekers, refugees, and undocumented immigrants continue to find it challenging to access human rights. In this book, Ayten Gundogdu builds on Hannah Arendt's analysis of statelessness and argues that these challenges reveal the perplexities of human rights. Human rights promise equal personhood regardless of citizenship status, yet their existing formulations are tied to the principle of territorial sovereignty. This situation leaves various categories of migrants in a condition of "rightlessness," with a very precarious legal, political, and human standing. Gundogdu examines this problem in the context of immigration detention, deportation, and refugee camps. Critical of the existing system of human rights without seeing it as a dead end, she argues for the need to pay closer attention to the political practices of migrants who challenge their condition of rightlessness and propose new understandings of human rights. What arises from this critical reflection on human rights is also a novel reading of Arendt, one that offers refreshing insights into various dimensions of her political thought, including her account of the human condition, "the social question," and "the right to have rights." Rightlessness in an Age of Rights is a valuable addition to the literature on Hannah Arendt and a vital way of rethinking human rights as they relate to contemporary issues of immigration.", This is an era of unprecedented developments in the field of human rights. It is most often informed by the idea of universal rights, which is premised on the recognition of every human as an equal person before the law. Still, millions of asylum-seekers, refugees and undocumented immigrants -- even migrants in relatively privileged positions -- find themselves subject to arbitrary detention and deportation. In this book, Ayten Gundogdu argues that such problems reveal the limits and paradoxes of the existing system of human rights, and she does so by building on Hannah Arendt's claim that stateless persons exist in a state of "rightlessness". Though the "Rights of Man" are often taken to be natural and pre-political, their effective protection relies on citizenship in a nation. Thus they allow various state practices that can undermine the rights of asylum-seekers, refugees and undocumented immigrants. Gündogdu looks at contemporary "rightlessness" in the context of immigration detention, deportation and refugee camps. Critical of the existing system of human rights without seeing it as a dead-end, she argues that political scientists need to pay closer attention to the political practices of migrants who question the exclusions of institutionalized rights and citizenship, make new demands, and so prompt new understandings of human rights. What arises from this critical reflection on human rights is also a novel reading of Arendt, one that offers refreshing insights into various dimensions of her political thought, including her phenomenological account of the human condition, her critical analysis of "the social question," and her puzzling proposal of "a right to have rights." Rightlessness in an Age of Rights is a valuable addition to the literature on Hannah Arendt and a vital way of rethinking human rights as they relate to contemporary issues of immigration.
9780199370429 English 0199370427 There have been remarkable developments in the field of human rights in the past few decades. Still, millions of asylum-seekers, refugees, and undocumented immigrants continue to find it challenging to access human rights. In this book, Ayten Gundogdu builds on Hannah Arendt's analysis of statelessness and argues that these challenges reveal the perplexities of human rights. Human rights promise equal personhood regardless of citizenship status, yet their existing formulations are tied to the principle of territorial sovereignty. This situation leaves various categories of migrants in a condition of "rightlessness," with a very precarious legal, political, and human standing. Gundogdu examines this problem in the context of immigration detention, deportation, and refugee camps. Critical of the existing system of human rights without seeing it as a dead end, she argues for the need to pay closer attention to the political practices of migrants who challenge their condition of rightlessness and propose new understandings of human rights. What arises from this critical reflection on human rights is also a novel reading of Arendt, one that offers refreshing insights into various dimensions of her political thought, including her account of the human condition, "the social question," and "the right to have rights." Rightlessness in an Age of Rights is a valuable addition to the literature on Hannah Arendt and a vital way of rethinking human rights as they relate to contemporary issues of immigration.", This is an era of unprecedented developments in the field of human rights. It is most often informed by the idea of universal rights, which is premised on the recognition of every human as an equal person before the law. Still, millions of asylum-seekers, refugees and undocumented immigrants -- even migrants in relatively privileged positions -- find themselves subject to arbitrary detention and deportation. In this book, Ayten Gundogdu argues that such problems reveal the limits and paradoxes of the existing system of human rights, and she does so by building on Hannah Arendt's claim that stateless persons exist in a state of "rightlessness". Though the "Rights of Man" are often taken to be natural and pre-political, their effective protection relies on citizenship in a nation. Thus they allow various state practices that can undermine the rights of asylum-seekers, refugees and undocumented immigrants. Gündogdu looks at contemporary "rightlessness" in the context of immigration detention, deportation and refugee camps. Critical of the existing system of human rights without seeing it as a dead-end, she argues that political scientists need to pay closer attention to the political practices of migrants who question the exclusions of institutionalized rights and citizenship, make new demands, and so prompt new understandings of human rights. What arises from this critical reflection on human rights is also a novel reading of Arendt, one that offers refreshing insights into various dimensions of her political thought, including her phenomenological account of the human condition, her critical analysis of "the social question," and her puzzling proposal of "a right to have rights." Rightlessness in an Age of Rights is a valuable addition to the literature on Hannah Arendt and a vital way of rethinking human rights as they relate to contemporary issues of immigration.