Conclusion

Abstract

Although this volume began in sunny Viktoria Square in Athens, the image presented by Oily in the above quote captures the gloomy British summertime typical of Newcastle. While Newcastle is a wonderful place, it is not a typical international city. It is not a ‘destination.’ Yet, as a British city and as depicted by the media, by some political discourses, and by popular opinion, it is at risk of being deluged by immigrants. Since conducting the research for this volume more attention in the popular media has been directed towards workers from EU countries using their right to work in the UK. Questions of asylum seekers and even ‘illegal’ immigrants and undocumented migrants have been overshadowed in favour of concern directed towards who should or should not be able to work legally and what effect that might have on British jobs. However, the principles at the core of these debates remain consistent — the focus is on who should be permitted and who should be restricted. Who belongs and who does not. Who needs support and who should not receive any for fear that the resources go to the ‘wrong’ people. Security remains at the heart of these topics. Economic security and identity security feature most predominantly but always in the context of the need to ascertain the security of the receiving country. In the preceding chapters I have illustrated a different security — a security that is sought and practiced by people who do not belong to a state. Economic need and identity are also bound up in that form of security, yet conceptualizing security in that context offers a different understanding of what international security looks like.