Citizenship and Immigration in Post-war Britain: The Institutional Origins of a Multicultural Nation

by Randall Hansen

In this contentious and ground-breaking study, Randall Hansen draws on extensive archival research to provide a new account of the transformation of the UK into a multicultural society through an analysis of the evolution of immigration and citizenship policy since 1945. Against the prevailing academic orthodoxy, he argues that British immigration policy was not racist but both rational and liberal.

Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Randall Hansen is Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto, and Canada Research in Global Migration.

Reviews

[Andres Cordoba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a moving read, and overall superbly carried by Randall Hansen, giving a new (at the time) perspective of the political history of immigration policy and it's peculiarities in post-war Britain. I was lucky to have a hand-me down copy as well filled with the previous owner's critiques, to which I happily added my own before going forward. Prior to anything else, I have to overall say the book was eye-opening and fascinating, with a well-delivered prose and solid focus. Chapter 1 throws the reader in to be boiled in oil, critiquing prior revisionist approaches for their non-critical analysis of the facts and lack of true comparative wit. Chapter 2 does a phenomenal job at setting the stage for a successful thesis carried through, that of clear path dependency politics present in the first 'citizenship act' in the British Nationality Act of 1948. Followed up with phenomenal readings on pressure from a nostalgic ideal of the Old Commonwealth and real concerns from the Colonial Secretaries of the time, Chapter 3-5 do a dramatic telling of an untold story of a misguided though astoundingly liberal policy to immigration and responsibility to the Empire. Chapters 6-10 turn this on their head, which serve to a different objective: to establish what makes the UK a deviant case in the modern day as a successful country in dealing with immigration, when the will was chosen. It is my opinion, that the author's excessively strong belief in a non-racial bias in policy and immigration policy occasionally hampers their analysis especially in Chapters 6-8, which knocks off a star from me. Regardless, the political case is well presented as Chapters 6-8 walk through The Race Relations Act, the disaster of the Kenyan Asians Crisis and the liberal, though terminal, restrictions created in the Ugandan Asians Crisis and an overall drive to problematic restrictions based off an inability to repeal. Remarkably, this is lacklusterdly followed up in Chapter 9 with a much to be desired analysis in Chapter 9 in the granting of Citizenship that rightfully identifies continuities in policy, historic change in overturn of BNA 1948, but fails too take a good luck at effect. To the author's credit, this is stated to be a chapter for presentation of facts and political consequence, rather than actual migration policy effects, but this leaves the Chapter as weak and disjointed compared to the rest of the book. Chapter 10 does a policy analysis with much more fervor, and though a little unwieldly in scope can be said to be a better version of what Chapter 9 claims to be. The only difficulties I have from here on are mainly with discussions of asylum, which should be held more independently and are sometimes inappropriately lumped to make points by the author, much in the same way that he accuses (rightfully so) his contemporaries of an uncritical use of International Court cases impact. With the Conclusion, the author does a solid job of presenting their case from Chapter 1 back through to he reader, though doesn't fully dispel the racial thesis presented as it's contrast in it's rival contemporaries, primarily from failing to engage fully the lesser claims of operation and implementation, as well as imperial responsibility. Regardless, this book represents a turning point in immigration analysis for Britain in it's political historiography, comparative analysis and legal analysis. As such, I would recommend it with any interested for a unbiased lens into Immigration in Britain.