Abstract
This chapter provides an analysis of the extent of Europeanization of the policies and politics of immigration in the United Kingdom (UK). In its relationship with the European Union (EU), the UK is often characterized as the odd one out and in comparison to other European member states the British approach towards immigration is considered unique. In contrast to this general assumption of ‘Anglo-Saxon exceptionalism’ we argue that the British case is in fact only a variant of the general pattern of the Europeanization of immigration policies and does not constitute a fundamentally different case. On the one hand the analysis shows that Britain is exceptional in the extent of its Europeanization, which is at the lowest level compared to other member states of the EU. With respect to the pattern of Europeanization we argue that the European impact on British policies of immigration is highly selective and that the government defends important features of its established politics of immigration. On the other hand, the UK is similar to other leading European member states insofar as it regularly makes use of the European level as a venue to pursue its national interests on immigration policy. Generally, the differences between the UK and other member states concerning the pattern of Europeanization are therefore a result of varying national interests. In particular, three main factors can account for the British case: (1) the mode of Europeanization structuring the British interaction with the EU in this policy area; (2) the increasing difficulties experienced by the UK in regulating migration flows in the national setting; and (3) the particular national preferences of the British government.
The authors would like to thank Thomas Faist, Margit Fauser and Andrew Geddes as well as all other participants in the conference ‘The Euro-peanization of National Immigration Policies. Varying Developments across Nations and Policy Areas’ (Europäische Akademie Berlin, 1–3 September 2005) for their helpful comments.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Allen, D. (2005) ‘The United Kingdom: a Europeanized Government in a Non-Europeanized Polity’. In S. Bulmer and C. Lequesne (eds), The Member States of the European Union. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Barbou des Places, S. and H. Oger (2005) ‘Making the European Migration Regime: Decoding Member States’ Legal Strategies’. European Journal of Migration and Law, Vol. 6: 353–79.
Börzel, T. A. (2002) ‘Pace-Setting, Foot-Dragging, and Fence-Sitting: Member State Responses to Europeanization’. Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol. 40, No. 2: 193–214.
Bulmer, S. and M. Burch (1998) ‘Organizing for Europe: the British State and the European Union’. Public Administration, Vol. 76, No. 4: 601–28.
Bulmer, S. and M. Burch (2004) ‘The Europeanization of UK Government: From Quiet Revolution to Explicit Step-change?’ Paper presented at the ESRC/UACES conference on ‘Britain in Europe and Europe in Britain: the Europeanisation of British Politics?’ Sheffield Town Hall, 16 July.
Castles, S. and G. Kosack (1985) Immigrant Workers and Class Structure in Western Europe. New York: Oxford University Press.
Cholewinski, R. (2004) ‘EU Measures Preventing Irregular Migration and UK Participation’. Tolley’s Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law Journal, Vol. 18, No. 2: 19–31.
Currle, E. (2004) Migration in Europa — Daten und Hintergründe. Stuttgart: Lucius & Lucius.
Fairbrass, J. (2004) ‘The Europeanisation of Interest Representation: UK Business and Environmental Interests Compared’. Paper presented at the ESRC/UACES conference on ‘Britain in Europe and Europe in Britain: the Europeanisation of British Politics?’ Sheffield Town Hall, 16 July.
Flinders, M. (2001) ‘Mechanisms of Judicial Accountability in British Central Government’. Parliamentary Affairs, Vol. 54: 54–71.
Flinders, M. (2005) ‘Majoritarian Democracy in Britain: New Labour and the Constitution’. West European Politics, Vol. 28, No. 1: 61–93.
Freeman, G. (1979) Immigrant Labor and Racial Conflict in Industrial Societies: the French and British Experience, 1945–1975. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Freeman, G. (1994) ‘Commentary’. In W. Cornelius, P. Martin and J. F. Hollifield (eds), Controlling Immigration: a Global Perspective. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Freeman, G. (2004) ‘Commentary’. In W. A. Cornelius, T. Tsuda, P. L. Martin and J. F. Hollifield (eds), Controlling Immigration: a Global Perspective. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Geddes, A. (2000) Immigration and European Integration. Towards Fortress Europe? Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Geddes, A. (2003) The Politics of Migration and Immigration in Europe. London: Sage.
Geddes, A. (2004) The European Union and British Politics. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
Geddes, A. and V. Guiraudon (2004) ‘Britain, France, and EU Anti-Discrimination Policy: the Emergence of an EU Policy Paradigm’. West European Politics, Vol. 27, No. 2: 334–53.
George, S. (1992) Britain and the European Community: the Politics of Semi-Detachment. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
George, S. (1998) An Awkward Partner. Britain in the European Community, 3d edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Glaeßner, G.-J. (2005) ‘Großbritannien: Ein europäischer Sonderweg in der Politik innerer Sicherheit’. In G.-J. Glaeßner and A. Lorenz (eds), Europäisierung der inneren Sicherheit. Eine vergleichende Untersuchung am Beispiel von organisierter Kriminalität und Terrorismus. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
Gray, E. and P. Statham (2005) ‘Becoming European? British Pro-Migrant NGOs and the European Union’. European Political Communication Working Paper Series (9/05).
Guild, E. (2004) ‘Transposing the EU Acquis on Immigration and Asylum in the UK: an Introduction’. Tolley’s Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law Journal, Vol. 18, No. 2: 1–5.
Guiraudon, V. (2001) ‘Seeking New Venues: the Europeanization of Migration-Related Policies’. Swiss Political Science Review, Vol. 7, No. 3: 99–106.
Hailbronner, K. (1999) ‘The Treaty of Amsterdam and Migration Law’. European Journal of Migration and Law, Vol. 1, No. 1: 9–27.
Hansen, R. (2000) Citizenship and Immigration in Post-war Britain. The Institutional Origins of a Multicultural Nation. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hansen, R. (2004) ‘Commentary’. In W. A. Cornelius, T. Tsuda, P. L. Martin and J. F. Hollifield (eds), Controlling Immigration: a Global Perspective. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Home Office (2005) ‘Explanatory Memorandum to the Asylum Support (Amendment) Regulations 2005, No. 11’. London.
House of Commons European Standing Committee B (2002) Reception of Asylum Applicants 17 June 2002. London.
House of Commons Select Committee on European Scrutiny (2000a) Lists of Third Countries whose Nationals Require Visas and those whose Nationals Are Visa-exempt, Fourteenth Report. London.
House of Commons Select Committee on European Scrutiny (2000b) The Right to Family Reunification, Eighteenth Report. London.
House of Commons Select Committee on European Scrutiny (2001) Reception of Asylum Applicants in Member States, First Report. London.
House of Commons Select Committee on European Scrutiny (2002a) A Common Policy on Illegal Migration, Eighteenth Report. London.
House of Commons Select Committee on European Scrutiny (2002b) Determining the Member State Responsible for Examining an Asylum Application, Second Report. London.
House of Commons Select Committee on European Scrutiny (2002c) Short-term Residence Permits for Victims of Trafficking Prepared to Cooperate with the Competent Authorities, Thirty-fourth Report. London.
Joppke, C. (1999) Immigration and the Nation-State: the United States, Germany and Great Britain. New York: Oxford University Press.
Jordan, A. (2004) ‘The Europeanization of British Environmental Policy’. Paper presented at the ESRC/UACES conference on ‘Britain in Europe and Europe in Britain: the Europeanisation of British Politics?’ Sheffield Town Hall, 16 July.
Jordan, G. and J. Richardson (1982) ‘The British Policy Style or the Logic of Negotiation?’ In J. Richardson (ed.), Policy Styles in Western Europe. London: George Allen & Unwin.
Kassim, H. (2000) ‘The United Kingdom’. In H. Kassim, B. G. Peters and V. Wright (eds), The National Co-ordination of EU Policy. The Domestic Level. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kassim, H. (2001) ‘Representing the United Kingdom in Brussels: the Fine Art of Positive Co-ordination’. In H. Kassim, A. Menon, B. G. Peters and V. Wright (eds), The National Co-ordination of EU Policy. The Domestic Level. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Knill, C. (2001) ‘Reforming Transport Policy in Britain: Concurrence with Europe but Separate Development’. In A. Héritier, D. Kerwer, C. Knill, D. Lehmkuhl, M. Teutsch and A.-C. Douillet (eds), Differential Europe. The European Union impact on National Policymaking. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Layton-Henry, Z. (1992) The Politics of immigration. Immigration, ‘Race’ and ‘Race’ Relations in Post-war Britain. Oxford: Blackwell.
Layton-Henry, Z. (1994) ‘Britain: the Would-be Zero-Immigration Country’. In W. A. Cornelius, P. L. Martin and J. F. Hollifield (eds), Controlling immigration: a Global Perspective. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Layton-Henry, Z. (2004) ‘Britain: From Immigration Control to Migration Management’. In W. A. Cornelius, T. Tsuda, P. L. Martin and J. F. Hollifield (eds), Controlling Immigration: a Global Perspective. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press.
Love-land, I. (2003) ‘Britain and Europe’. In V. Bogdanor (ed.), The British Constitution in the Twentieth Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Marcussen, M., T. Risse, D. Engelmann-Martin, H. J. Knopf and K. Roscher (1999) ‘Constructing Europe? The Evolution of French, British and German Nation State Identities’. Journal of European Public Policy, Vol. 6, No. 4: 614–33.
Marsh, D., D. Richards and M. Smith (2001) Changing Patterns of Governance in the UK: Reinventing Whitehall? Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Mastenbroek, E. (2005) ‘EU Compliance: Still a “Black Hole”?’ Journal of European Public Policy, Vol. 12, No. 6: 1103–20.
Monar, J. (2004) ‘Justice and Home Affairs’. Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol. 42: 117–33.
Moravcsik, A. (1993) ‘Preferences and Power in the European Community: a Liberal Intergovernmentalist Approach’. Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol. 31, No. 4: 473–524.
Page, E. (1998) ‘The Impact of European Legislation on British Public Policy Making: a Research Note’. Public Administration, Vol. 76, No. 4: 803–9.
Peers, S. (2000) EU Justice and Home Affairs Law. Harlow: Pearson Education.
Radaelli, C. M. (2003) ‘The Europeanization of Public Policy’. In K. Featherstone and C. M. Radaelli (eds), The Politics of Europeanization. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Risse, T. (2001) ‘A European Identity? Europeanization and the Evolution of Nation-State Identities’. In M. Green Cowles, J. Caporaso and T. Risse (eds), Transforming Europe: Europeanization and Domestic Change. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Risse, T. (2004) ‘Social Constructivism and European Integration’. In A. Wiener and T. Diez (eds), European Integration Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Ryan, B. (2004a) ‘The European Dimension to British Border Control’. Tolley’s Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law Journal, Vol. 18, No. 2: 6–16.
Ryan, B. (2004b) ‘The United Kingdom’. In K. Hailbronner and I. Higgins (eds), Migration and Asylum Law and Policy in the European Union. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schönwälder, K. (2001) Einwanderung und ethnische Plutalität: Politische Entscheidungen und öffentliche Debatten in Großbritannien und der Bundesrepublik von den 1950er bis zu den 1970er Jahren. Essen: Klartext-Verlag.
Sifft, S. (2004) ‘The Boomerang Pattern. Pushing for the Europeanization of British Equal Opportunities Policies’. Young Scholars’ Conference ‘The Impact of Europeanization on Politics and Policy in Europe’, 7–9 May, Munk Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto.
Smith, M. J., D. Marsh, D. and D. Richards (1995) ‘Central Government Departments and the Policy Process’. In R. A. W. Rhodes and P. Dunleavy (eds), Prime Minister, Cabinet and Core Executive. Basingstoke: St. Martin’s Press.
Toner, H. and A. Hurwitz (2004) ‘The EU Asylum Acquis in the UK’. Tolley’s Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law Journal, Vol. 18, No. 2: 32–45.
Wallace, H. (1997) ‘At Odds with Europe’. Political Studies, Vol. 45, No. 4: 677–88.
Wallace, H. (2005) ‘An Institutional Anatomy and Five Policy Modes’. In H. Wallace, W. Wallace and M. A. Pollack (eds), Policy-Making in the European Union. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wiener, A. (1999) ‘Forging Flexibility — the British “No” to Schengen’. European Journal of Migration and Law, Vol. 1: 441–63.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2007 Andreas Ette and Jürgen Gerdes
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ette, A., Gerdes, J. (2007). Against Exceptionalism: British Interests for Selectively Europeanizing its Immigration Policy. In: Faist, T., Ette, A. (eds) The Europeanization of National Policies and Politics of Immigration. Migration, Minorities and Citizenship. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230800717_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230800717_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-54116-4
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-80071-7
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)