Abstract

This paper aims at presenting some considerations on the issue of borders and migrations, carried out from the perspective of normative political theory. The author maintains that States possess a prima facie right of sovereignty on their borders, although this right has limitations: for example, States have the duty of opening their borders to people risking their lives, and lose their right to non-interference from other States when they carry out criminal behaviors or unacceptable violations of human rights. Moreover, States have duties of solidarity towards the citizens of other States, and must keep these duties into account when deciding on their migration policies.