Analysis Of The Ugly Duckling

The article that I haven chosen for my reflection is “The Ugly Duckling: Denmark’s Anti-refugee policies and Europe’s race to the bottom” written by Hansen and Malvig (2016) regarding Denmark, which, known as the liberal darling of the world, suddenly closes the door and presents itself to be extremely unwelcoming to alyssum seekers since the beginning of European refugee crisis.

This essay will first prove that the act of inhospitableness featured in the article falls into the political domain of hospitality and then, look into the issue through the abstract hospitality lens of philosophy. Furthermore, principles of unconditional hospitality and obligations will be employed to offer a deeper understanding of the discourse. After that I will

Obligations in hospitality is mutual, which includes responsibilities for both guests and host (Lashley, 2008). However, it mainly falls on the host to offer guest with shelter, food and drink and protection irrespective of his/her status or origin based on altruistic generosity driven by pure motives (Lashley, 2008). In this case, Denmark seems to violate most of this by allowing police to check and ....... However, the obligations of acting hospitably to strangers or foreigners does not remain the same, it changes over time especially when the host society feels under threat or as the contacts with aliens increase (Lashley, 2008). Derrida believes that hospitality is an aporia containing an insoluble conflict between “hospitality” and “hostility”, or as he called “hospitility” (Derrida, 2000). Thus, when it comes closer to the absolute by tirelessly welcoming strangers who may be dangerous, unpleasant or ungrateful into our home, the more likely hospitality is hyperbolically reversed into hostility (Wrobleski, 2009). Similarly, after years of nearly unconditionally hospitable to the world in general and refugees in particular (10% of Danish is refugees and their children), Denmark is now turning to the other side of the hyperbole and thus, the country is not strictly bounded by those obligations