‘With a Heavy Heart’: Ethics, Emotions and Rationality in Norwegian Immigration Administration

Abstract

This article analyses decision-making processes concerning applications for family immigration to Norway by giving an account of the dilemmas and challenges faced by the employees of the Norwegian immigration administration. I argue that these civil servants negotiate two somewhat different ethical principles where the foundation for ethical conduct is either emotion or reason. The article investigates the ethical potential of bureaucracy and aims to contribute to sociological debates about ethics, emotion and rationality.