Keyhole solutions: permissibility, desirability, feasibility, and stability

Abstract

This article suggests four key evaluation metrics for evaluating the feasibility of keyhole solutions, or compromises and policies that exist between full-scale open borders and closed borders. The first is moral permissibility, where potential keyhole solutions that conflict with ethics are to be discarded, such as allowing citizenship but with arbitrary and punitive measures for minor offenses. The second is desirability, where solutions may be morally permissible but undesirable, such as guest worker programs that restrict movement and pose risks to worker abuse. The third is feasibility, where policies are evaluated based on whether they can be realistically implemented, given political incentives and public opinion. Lastly, stability considers whether a keyhole solution can remain intact over time without being subject to change. – AI-generated abstract