Sanctuary, Sovereignty, Sacrifice: Canadian Sanctuary Incidents, Power, and Law

By Randy K. Lippert

Drawing on theories of governmentality, Lippert traces the emergence of sanctuary practice to a shift in responsibility for refugees and immigrants from the state to churches and communities. Here sanctuary practices and spaces are shaped by a form of pastoral power that targets needs and operates through sacrifice, and by a sovereign power that is exceptional, territorial, and spectacular. Correspondingly, law plays a complex role in sanctuary, appearing variously as a form of oppression, a game, and a source of majestic authority that overshadows the state. A thorough and original account of contemporary sanctuary practice, this book tackles theoretical and methodological questions in governmentality and socio-legal studies.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0774812494
• ISBN13: 9780774812498
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: University of British Columbia Press
• Length: 266 Pages