The Self and the Other in Post-modern European Societies

Analyzing the concept of moral identity vis-à-vis the migratory phenomenon, it has emerged that Human Rights can play a relevant role in the formalized processes of identity building as well as the informal ones. Indeed, inasmuch as we construct our moral identity also in relation with the liberal-democratic regimes that define our communities, the institutions of such regimes represent a fundamental reference for the processes of identity building. In this regard the genealogy of the Self should be written again by including a new moral source. In a context of multilevel constitutionalism, due to binding treaties, Human Rights have become legal norms and they can constitute the formalized processes of identity building. The processes contributing to the self-comprehension of a political community need the formal structures of identity building to operate correctly. In this context Human Rights are at stake, especially in the framework of freedom of movement. Thus, the malfunctions in the systems of norms of Human Rights cannot but have any effect on our concept of identity. This is especially the case when we observe the stress that migratory processes cause to the normative structures of liberal-democratic countries. This paper aims to show how the absence of the right of immigration can create some malfunctions in the Human Rights law and how this is connected with our concept of identity.