Abstract

The arrival of migrants in search of a better life puts forward urgent questions for social and political thought. Historically, hospitality has been considered as a religious duty, a sacred commandment of charity and generosity to assign strangers a place — albeit ambivalent — in the community. With the development of the modern nation state, these obligations have been inscribed into the procedures of political deliberation and legislation that determine the social spaces of aliens, residents and citizens. Current debates are tied to notions of justice which question borders and undermine the congruence of citizenship, territory and belonging that make up modern nation states. These debates focus on the rights of others and the demands of unconditional hospitality, an absolute requirement on one hand, and political and legal limitations on the other. The paper will critically engage with these debates, and evidence the tensions and limits inherent in current notions of hospitality.