Borders and Hospitality
Benjamin Boudou
The Crash team had the pleasure of welcoming Benjamin Boudou, politician and researcher at the Max Planck Institute, for a conference-debate on November 26, 2018. The meeting was prepared and moderated by Michaël Neuman.
In light of the very rich news environment regarding the management of migration flows, the consequences of the control exerted over borders and the linkages of humanitarians to such mechanisms, we exchanged on the legitimacy of borders along with the uses of the notion of hospitality. Despite constant exposure to the political and news cycles, we have at MSF, very few occasions to delve into conceptual tools and reasoning offered by political science and philosophy. This encounter was the occasion to discuss and debate familiar notions and give them a deeper layer of understanding.
Benjamin Boudou is the author of two books recently published: Politique de l’hospitalité. Une généalogie conceptuelle, 2017, CNRS éditions and Le dilemme des frontières. Ethique et politique de l’immigration, 2018, Editions de l’EHESS.
Through the study of different types of hospitality (savage, antic, sacred, cosmo-political), Benjamin Boudou explores in his first book, the political dimension of the concept. Hospitality is not only a private virtue, but also a political practice aiming at the integration or inclusion of the foreigner, on which the rules of borders are built. These power and domination relations lead Benjamin Boudou, in his second book to question the legitimacy of borders, and to think about their democratization rather than their opening – in the sense that it goes hand in hand with democratic values.
To cite this content :
Benjamin Boudou, “Borders and Hospitality”, 26 novembre 2018, URL : https://msf-crash.org/en/conferences-debates/borders-and-hospitality
If you would like to comment on this article, you can find us on social media or contact us here:
Contribute
Alex Yallop/MSF
Dossier
Migrants / refugees
05/29/2018With the cold war over, refugees have lost their status as an instrument of western soft power, whereas with the economic crisis and terrorism, hostility towards migrants is increasing. Prevailing representations of migration movements are convincing a growing proportion of the European population that migrants are a threat and refugees a burden. This file contains a collection of publications (articles, opinion columns, blog articles, press releases, CRASH papers) from 1990 to date, focusing on two themes : 1° the dichotomy between hospitality policy and migration policy, 2° camps approached from a number of different angles.
Read more
Guillaume Binet/Myop
Op-ed
The state: from sieve to smuggler
09/10/2018Numerous politicians, from Daniel Cohn-Bendit to Marine Le Pen and including Emmanuel Macron, denounce what they claim is collusion between organisations helping migrants (humanitarian workers) and smugglers (criminals). One group operates in full public view, the other out of sight, but both are said to be working together to help people illegally cross borders.
Andrew McConnell/Panos Pictures
Op-ed
NGOs are not in collusion with smugglers
07/10/2018Humanitarian aid organisations carrying out rescues at sea were made into the accomplices of human traffickers. This accusation is as absurd as it is unacceptable. Not only do rescue operations at sea save people from drowning, but they evacuate people in situations of immediate danger in Libya, MSF recalls.
Past events
Maëlle Lefeuvre/MSF
Conference
Waging war for peace
05/05/2026 - 06:30 PM 08:30 PMOn Tuesday, May 5th, 2026, at the headquarters of MSF (14-34 avenue Jean Jaurès, 75019), the CRASH team was delighted to welcome Sylvain Venayre, professor of contemporary history and writer, for a conference on the distant wars of the 19th century and the debates they continue to spark today. This exchange was prepared and moderated by Rony Brauman.
Maëlle Lefeuvre/MSF
Conference
Why defend multilateralism?
03/24/2026 - 06:30 PM 08:30 PMOn Tuesday, March 24th, 2026, we had the pleasure of welcoming Monique Chemillier-Gendreau, Professor Emerita of Public Law and Political Science, for a conference devoted to multilateralism in the current geopolitical context. This event was prepared and presented by Rony Brauman.
Mathilde Chong/MSF
Conference
Gaza, Ukraine. How AI and drones are transforming the violence of war
10/14/2025 - 06:30 PM 08:30 PMOn Tuesday, October 14, 2025, the CRASH team was pleased to welcome Laure de Roucy-Rochegonde and Amélie Ferey for a conference on the transformation of war violence in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and drones. The discussion was prepared and moderated by Fabrice Weissman.
Conference
Human shields. When humanitarian law turns against war victims
06/12/2025 - 06:30 PM 08:30 PMOn Thursday June 12, 2025, the Crash team was delighted to welcome Neve Gordon and Nicola Perugini, for a conference entitled " Human shields. When humanitarian law turns against war victims". This meeting was prepared and moderated by Fabrice Weissman and Hakim Chkam.
Conference
Russian influence strategies in Africa
04/03/2025 - 06:30 PM 08:30 PMOn Thursday April 3, the Crash team was delighted to welcome Maxime Audinet, researcher at IRSEM, for a conference on Russia's new trajectories in Africa. This meeting, prepared with Michaël Neuman (Crash), was moderated by Guillaume Baret (Operations Department).
Conference
Port-au-Prince, Haiti: living and working in chaos?
02/06/2025 - 06:30 PM 08:30 PMOn Thursday February 6, the Crash team was delighted to welcome Romain Le Cour Grandmaison, Arnaud Dandoy, Pascale Solages and Sarah Chateau (MSF) for a conference entitled “Port-au-Prince, Haiti: living and working in chaos?”. This meeting was prepared and moderated by Judith Soussan.