A Hospitable Refuge for the Neighbor: The Agape Centric Capabilities Approach Open Access

Levin, Robert (Spring 2018)

Permanent URL: https://etd.library.emory.edu/concern/etds/m326m182n?locale=en
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Abstract

This thesis proposes that the agape centric capabilities approach ought to be used as a solution to the global refugee crisis. The normative approach advocated for in this paper argues that Christian love ought to dictate refugee resettlement policies rather than a nation’s self-interest. Four agape centric central capabilities are proposed to help determine which candidates require a self-sacrificial action by the nation-state first. After the agape centric capabilities approach is introduced and explained, it is compared to the two traditional responses to the current refugee crisis, cosmopolitanism and conservative populism.

Table of Contents

Introduction—Leaving Home, Seeking Refuge (1)

            The Task at Hand (12)

1) The Agape Centric Capabilities Approach (15)

            Strong Agapism and the Capabilities Approach (17)

            Synthesizing the Agape Centric Capabilities Approach (24)

            Agape Centric Capabilities and Hospitality (29)

            Conclusion (37)

2) The First Interlocutor: Liberal Cosmopolitanism (38)

            The Three Cosmopolitans: Kant, Derrida and Appiah (40)

            Contemporary Cosmopolitanism in Action: Trudeau, Obama and Merkel (48)       Benefits and Fallbacks of Cosmopolitanism (53)

            Agape Centric Capabilities Approach as Alternative to Cosmopolitanism (57)

            Conclusion (60)

3) The Second Interlocutor: Conservative Populism (61)

            Carl Schmitt (1888-1985): A Father of Conservative Legal Philosophy (63)

            Two Schmittian Leaders: Donald Trump and Viktor Orbán (69)

            Answering the Conservative Critique of the Resettlement Question (74)

            Agape Centric Capabilities Approach as Alternative to Conservatism (78)

            Conclusion (85)

4) Conclusion (86)

5) Works Cited (90)

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