Neo-assimilationist citizenship and belonging policies in Britain: Meanings for transnational migrants in northern England

Abstract

including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. 1 RESEARCH ARTICLENeo-assimilationist citizenship and belonging policies in Britain: Meanings for transnational migrants in northern England. AbstractThe overall aim of this paper is to contribute to debates on the relationships between citizenship and migration in the UK context in the light of recent changes in UK immigration policy. In particular, it focuses on the question of what an increasingly neo-assimilationist state articulation of national belonging means for transnational migrants living in Britain. The paper begins by charting the evolving nature of citizenship conceptualisations in Western neoliberal contexts and illustrates how Britain has T erein the state implies that the integrity of the nation state and its security can only be assured if migration flows and migrants themselves are closely controlled and monitored. This has led to Britain attempting to bolster the formal institution of citizenship (with its attendant rights and responsibilities) and tie it more explicitly to notions of belonging to the nation. Through research with national/regional policy officials and migrant organisations this paper firstly examines the political landscape of citizenship and belonging in Britain as it relates to migrants. Secondly, it draws on research with African transnational migrants in northern England to explore their senses of belonging and ask whether these cohere with the described state discourse or whether their feelings of belonging exist in tension with neoassimilationist policies designed to promote a core national identity.

Emotional citizenry: everyday geographies of befriending, belonging and intercultural encounter

“…Research on the significance of emotion in wider migration processes examines emotional logics and regimes vis‐à‐vis decisions and experiences around movement, return and multiple migrating, highlighting ‘the emotional economy of migration’ (Ho ). Literature on forced migration considers refugees and asylum seekers' access to material resources, such as food, housing, medical services, as well as social support and inclusion, such that refugees and asylum seekers can feel they belong (Conlon and Gill ; Waite ). Any sense of belonging among refugees and asylum seekers, then, is irrevocably intertwined with in/security, about making themselves more secure.…”

“…The paper draws on empirical research with refugees and asylum seekers and more settled residents in the north east of England, exploring interpersonal relationships within a local community organisation‐run scheme. In this context, UK government policies are increasingly repressive around immigration and human rights (Waite ); framed through ‘austerity reform’, dominant narratives centre around established communities having to defend scarce local resources against racialised incoming others, contributing to an increase in boundary‐making and narrowing of the category of deserving citizen (Noxolo ). Such policy and rhetoric are clearly mired in essentialist identity constructions, and can be critiqued for failing to consider ‘everyday practice, exchange and meaning making’ (Wise and Velayutham , 3).…”

Migration and diversity in a post-socialist context: Creating integrative encounters in Poland

“…For such rights to be fully realised however, it requires migrants to develop 'a sense of belonging in the host community' (Phillimore, 2012: 527). This in turn is necessarily predicated on the growth of social and cultural relationships between new arrivals and the established resident population (Ager and Strang, 2008;Alba and Nee, 1999;Waite, 2012). Here, the 'contact hypothesis' is regarded as a foundational theory for understanding the development of mutual respect across 'difference'.…”

“…A number of studies of integration have highlighted that for contact to be successful it must be a two-way process, requiring a willingness to engage, and change, by the host society as well as new arrivals (e.g. Alba and Nee, 1999;Cook et al, 2011;Waite, 2012). As such the optimum definition of integration -though one less commonly achieved -is the production of new multicultural forms of living together as a result of a mutual openness to change, the breaking down of boundaries, and the mixing or hybridisation of cultural practices (Cantle, 2012).…”

Britishness, belonging and citizenship

“…Although concepts such as 'transnational citizenship', 'global citizenship' and 'post-national citizenship' have emerged (Falk, 1993;Bauböck, 1994;Bosniak, 2000, p 449) in both periods, British citizenship has become exclusive and exclusionary. Undergirding the uniqueness of the British situation and its exclusionary nature is the search for a basic set of 'British values' to cement British society because of its growing diversity (Tyler, 2010;Waite, 2012). Although British citizenship is of liberal make-up, it has now become a hunt for the unicorn named 'majoritarian sameness'.…”