The politics of immigration to Britain

East‐West migrations in the twentieth century

Bibliographic Data

ID6406717
AuthorsRobert Miles (0000-0002-4216-8739, Glasgow Caledonian University), Diana Kay (Netherlands Institute for Social Research)
Year1994
Volume17
Issue2
Pages17-32
Publication date1994-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueWest European Politics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0140-2382 • E-ISSN: 1743-9655
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01402389408425012
OpenAlexW2084564503
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited16

This analysis places recent interest in East/West migration in a historical perspective. It argues that East/West migration to Britain is not a new phenomenon: Russian Jews arrived at the turn of the twentieth century and members of the Polish Armed Forces and Displaced Persons in the mid‐to late 1940s. Official responses to these refugee movements varied as did the ideological representations of the incomers. In particular, prevailing political and economic considerations as well as ‘race‐thinking’ informed official responses. Current British policy towards refugees from former Yugoslavia reinforces the argument that refugee status is socially determined, rather than inherent in a particular set of circumstances

Argument (complex analysis · Development economics · Economic history · Economics · Ideology · Immigration · Immigration policy · Perspective (graphical · Phenomenon · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Refugee · Sociology · Gender Studies · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · History · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Law · World Wars: History, Literature, and Impact