Protecting the rights of refugees is necessary for democracy

The present refugee crisis coincides with the rise of authoritarianism and the increase in xenophobia both in some European countries and in the US. Should democracies exclude refugees to protect their values, identities, and economies, or should democracies instead affirm the rights and dignity of each human being in order to protect their own political foundations? Turning to Hannah Arendt’s work on how totalitarianism transforms human beings into superfluous matter, this article argues that protecting the rights of refugees is crucial for respecting the European commitment to “Never Again” and for protecting a political sphere that is not reduced to social or cultural identities.