Search

This paper employs data from the 2021 UK census to initially explore sub-state (English, Welsh) national identities among minority ethnic groups. This shows that these identities remain much more exclusive of people in minority groups than is a British identity, and that this exclusion is particularly marked with respect to English identity. The analysis then builds on this observation using similar data to examine English identification among the White British ‘majority’ in a ‘superdiverse’ city – London. Attributes which are typically shared by London boroughs in which identification as English deviates most from the national average, and multi-variable analysis which considers the ethnic structure of the borough in which an individual lives alongside other key factors (age, education, social class) suggest differences in identification between people living in boroughs that are characterised by more established and extensive ethnic diversity and those in boroughs transitioning from a previously more homogeneous (white) ethnic structure. In exploring how the articulation of a specific national identity might relate to ethnically-diverse or ‘superdiverse’ contexts, the paper uniquely contributes to recent research which calls for a stronger focus on how people who do not belong to migrant-minority groups might respond to living in such contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how gender affects Polish men's vulnerability to labour exploitation in Britain, given the relatively little research investigating the role of gender in modern slavery labour exploitation. Drawing on a sample of male Polish migrants living in England, this paper makes a novel contribution by addressing several potential shortcomings of prior analyses in analysing the role of gender at different moments of the men's experiences of exploitation. Key findings suggest some Polish men conform to traditional gender roles embedded in and shaped by Polish society and its specific socio-economic and political transformation. Their desire to conform intensifies pressures to migrate and work to uphold their status as providers. However, their accounts demonstrate that gendered pressures sometimes complicate concerns over unscrupulous labour dynamics, which increase their vulnerability to labour exploitation and prevent some from seeking help. Moreover, the reluctance to report their exploitation can unintentionally steer them into perilous situations or further exploitation, which raises important questions for victim reporting and protection. Many of these men's accounts provide empirical support for gender-role conflict theory and the necessity for masculinity and its effects to be included in national policy and frameworks to address modern slavery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UN has stated its aim to eliminate 'Female Genital Mutilation' by 2030. In adherence to this, many countries have introduced or enhanced legislative and policy measures aimed at prevention through surveillance and punishment. In the European context, while protecting young girls from harm is the notional purpose of such measures, political and media debates have often been framed within nation-building rhetoric: across Europe 'FGM' has become the de rigour signifier of the vilified migrant/Muslim Other. This paper explores the impact of FGM-safeguarding measures in relation to citizenship and belonging for people of Somali heritage living in Bristol, England. It contributes to the incipient critical scholarship concerned with the powerful but blinkered hegemonic narrative pedalled by the UN and the policy turn within Europe towards prevention-through-criminalisation. Further, it advances debates on the conundrum of inclusive citizenship considering how a policy intervention which was initiated with widespread support among affected groups and undertaken on an anti-racist platform, resulted in stigmatisation and racism. Using Anderson's (Us and Them? The Dangerous Politics of Immigration Control. Oxford: OUP) framework of citizenship as a 'community of value', the paper also contributes to the growing body of work on how citizenship is experienced and the symbiotic and interdependent relationship between status, rights and identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International migration has a consistently high profile within national and international politics with increased focus on measurement and quantification of migrant numbers, impact on services and contribution to local, regional and national economies. However, the absence of consistency within definitions, categorisations and measurement of international migration and migrant populations create challenges and barriers to both understanding the needs of migrant communities but also the provision of adequate services within specific geographical areas. This paper will present findings from a project designed to map the impact of migration on a settled community within a Local Authority (LA) in the North East of England. As the project encountered routine inconsistencies around definitions, categorisations and measurement of migration within the LA area, this paper demonstrates the complexity of trying to 'measure' migration on the ground and while consistency in measurement is key to accurate data, we conclude with an ethical question about the rationale for collecting data on migrant populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on data from in-depth interviews with refused asylum seekers from Zimbabwe and Kurds from Turkey, who have stayed in Britain as irregular migrants, this paper examines everyday lives, strategies and fears. The paper focuses on four main areas: individual experiences of the asylum system leading to irregularity; living as an irregular migrant with the constraints on economic participation and limited housing options; social lives, relationships and community activities alongside the ways in which decisions about social interactions intersect with irregularity and subsistence support; the fears and everyday struggles faced by irregular migrant's living in England, and the ways in which this translates into relationships with place and space. The paper draws out both the commonalities and the diversity of experiences among refused asylum seekers living in England. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the 2001 Census Special Migration Statistics, this paper explores ethnic variations in the propensity to migrate, the effectiveness of net migration in redistributing ethnic populations, and the connectivity between places that results from ethnic migration. London has by far the largest concentration of ethnic minority populations in Great Britain and plays a key role in the national internal migration system. By decomposing the net migration balances of boroughs into those within and across London's outer metropolitan boundary, the paper reveals different spatial processes of decentralisation and dispersal as well as centralisation when comparing ethnic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses an important gap in the return-migration and housing literatures. Little is known about financial resources and assets used by Caribbean elders embarking on return. Even less is known about patterns of housing investment among those who have second homes. Previous work reveals that home-owners feature more prominently among this cohort than any other housing tenure, suggesting access to housing wealth is a significant financial resource alongside lifetime savings. The literature also suggests that, in addition to land purchased specifically for the purpose of a return, some returnees have access to inherited land in the island of origin. The paper argues that greater attention should be paid to the role of home-ownership status, housing wealth leakage into the Caribbean and land inheritance within return-migration planning for this group. Life-history accounts are drawn from a sample of Caribbean home-owners based in Birmingham and London at different stages of return-migration planning. The theoretical framework used to explore the risks and opportunities of return-migration planning locates the resources available to returnees within broader networks of financial, social and kinship networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary debates in England about ethnic and religious tensions and community cohesion have included a focus on the role that housing processes play in contributing towards both multiculturalism and dynamics of segregation in urban areas. The role of faith as a particular dimension of cultural identity and urban institutional organisation is increasingly being recognised in English housing policy. This paper argues for a more nuanced conceptualisation of the links between faith and housing aspiration, consumption and provision. Focusing particularly on Muslim and Jewish housing experiences and housing organisations in England, the paper explores how the notion of faith is reconfiguring the traditional emphasis upon ethnicity in debates about equality, diversity and meeting minority needs in the English housing system. It identifies a series of tensions, ambiguities and challenges facing policy-makers in England and other Western European polities in harnessing housing processes in the quest for urban cohesion and diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnicity data from successive censuses are used to compare population change. This paper shows that such comparisons are often impossible, wrong or misleading. Distortions become more severe as the scale of areal units becomes smaller. The paper outlines the four main sources of confusion and applies solutions for England and Wales for 1991-2001: (1) classifications, including ethnic group and age, changed between censuses; (2) non-response varies between ethnic groups, areas and ages and its treatment differs in each census; (3) the census population base changed, counting students at their home address in 1991 and at their educational address in 2001, and being taken on a different date in each year; (4) geographical boundaries used for standard census outputs changed. Each of these factors operates differentially on the outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Jewish population living in Britain has commonly been depicted as a 'model of integration'. This paper explores the social and spatial transitions made by the Jewish community over the course of more than a century of settlement and adaptation, with particular reference to Leeds. Using an historical perspective, the paper traces the changing 'place' of Jews in wider society in terms of their socio-economic status and how they construct themselves as a religious and ethnic minority in Britain. Drawing on a mixed methods approach, the paper reveals how Leeds Jews' understandings of community, identity, integration and citizenship have evolved over time. The research uncovers diverse and complex interpretations of Jewishness and integration, which unsettle the idealised notions of community, the straightforward trajectory of adaptation, and unproblematic conceptions of identity embedded in the Jewish model of integration. The paper reflects on the implications of the Jewish experience for current debates and discourses on 'race', difference and social integration in twenty-first-century Britain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In postwar England, the 'inner city' has loomed large in urban discourse and policy, serving as an important site through which 'race' has been rendered socially and spatially meaningful. Drawing on insights from history, geography and sociology, this paper traces the material and symbolic processes through which the 'inner city' has been the subject and object of socio-political knowledge and action. The article examines what shifting understandings of the 'inner city' and related policy responses reveal about the racialisation of space and bodies, and the role of the state in rationalising and enacting specific urban imaginings and interventions. In historicising dominant conceptions of the 'inner city', we identify three periods revealing key transformations within this formation: firstly, we consider how the idea operated as a spectre, in which the American 'ghetto' was seen as a predictor of 'race relations'; secondly, we contend that during the 1970s and 1980s, the 'inner city' came to be 'territorialised' as a pathological, racialised space subject to particular modes of institutional regulation; finally, we examine the relative fragmentation of the 'inner city' in recent decades, through urban regeneration and changes in the spatialisation of 'race' and ethnicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper conducts a form of racial archaeology in relation to the areas of Brixton and Brick Lane in London. Both inner-city areas are strongly associated with meanings related to race and difference. This paper examines some of the dominant ways though which Brixton and Brick Lane became represented in key policy texts. It investigates how these representations changed through time and identifies three different moments that have dominated the evolution of multiculturalism in local political discourse: a moment of racial pathology, where race is viewed as a problem of space or in space; a moment of reflection, where race is perceived through the lens of cultural difference; and a moment of celebration, where cultural difference is represented as an asset to be capitalised upon by acts of local regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some commentators on globalisation and migration have suggested that a growing number of young, educated individuals regard moving overseas as a vehicle for pursing their project of self-realisation, whether imagined in terms of promoting careers or of the search for adventure and cultural variety or both. Drawing on the experiences of skilled migrants from EU countries living in Manchester, the paper examines the motives which induced them to migrate and suggests that economic constraints were often equally as or more significant in propelling them overseas and in influencing their choice of destination than their personal preferences. The paper then argues that their actual experiences abroad became much more significant to their life trajectories than earlier decisions. Most were propelled towards cosmopolitanism and greater world openness because of their exposure to, and involvement in, post-national relationships and intercultural encounters. Although these tended to push them even further away from their original national origins, thereby creating more scope for re-constructing a chosen life path, they also left them more exposed to, and dependent upon, these new relationships and cosmopolitan influences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remittances are an important strand in the relationship between migration and socio-economic change in migrants' countries of origin and there is growing interest in their role in conflict and post-conflict countries. Yet little is known about remittances from the diaspora perspective, and much less about refugees remitting. This paper makes three contributions, based on analysis of survey and ethnographic evidence on the remittance experiences of Somali refugees in London. First, it argues that the diaspora perspective is a critical element in understanding remittance processes, and that remitting can have substantial repercussions for migrants. Second, it argues that, just as migrants are not 'just labour', remittances are not 'just money', pointing to the importance of analysing the social texture of the remittance process. Third, it argues that the nature of forced migration may shape remitting in ways which merit further exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The international mobility of professionals and graduates is one of the most dynamic transnational types of movement and represents an increasingly large component of global migration streams. The global competition for talent, the expansion of the knowledge economy and the increasing globalisation of markets and companies contribute to the increased importance of these mobility flows. Yet academic debates persist around who and what is meant by 'highly skilled'. This paper highlights the importance of social context and immigrant agency in the assessment of skills and human capital. It draws attention to the substantial difference between 'highly skilled' and 'highly qualified' immigrants. The analysis presents original empirical data collected in 2005 through an online survey (N=133) and 54 semi-structured interviews with East European professionals and graduates living and working in London. It argues that the social aspects of skills are essential components of skill construction, especially in the changing social contexts of migration. It concludes that being skilled is an outcome of negotiations around the value and the value-attached significance of employable human capital. The negotiators are, on the one hand, the highly qualified migrants themselves and their ways of self-representation of the value of their credentials, knowledge, skills and abilities; on the other hand, they are the employers and their ways of perception, assessment and judgement of employable human capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the apparent gender-neutrality of many migration theories, there has been a tendency to configure economic migrants as male, especially within a European context. This has been exacerbated by an historical amnesia about women's patterns of migration. Until recently migrant women have been either ignored or subsumed into accounts of household migration or family reunification. Thus, men have been constructed as active, economic migrants, while women have been contained within domestic and familial roles. This paper seeks to complicate such a dichotomous construction by drawing upon the narratives of 26 Irish nurses who migrated to Britain in the postwar period. The women in this study present themselves as economic actors who made the pragmatic decision to migrate to Britain. Nonetheless, it is clear that they also were implicated in complex webs of family migration and kinship. However, far from the stereotypical image of household or nuclear family migration, these women's narratives reveal the range and diversity of transnational kinship ties. Most of the women were encouraged to migrate by female relatives, especially sisters, aunts and cousins. The paper concludes by considering the implications for an understanding of family-led migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores identity transformations of the Kosovo Albanian diaspora in the United Kingdom by focusing on the dimensions of education, gender and religion. Taking into account both the structural factors of the adopted country and the impact of a strong sense of nationhood based on traditional beliefs and mores, the analysis traces the emergence of internal lines of identity differentiation within the Albanian community in a diasporic context. The uniform interpretation of the Albanian identity is under growing pressure to incorporate alternative views of Albanianhood as they emerge from the process of interaction with the political, social, economic and cultural environment of the host country. The paper shows that the persistence of a commitment to such a rigidly defined sense of nationhood has thus far stopped these alternative views from turning into lines of division within the Kosovo Albanian diaspora. It posits that a constructive internal redefinition of the Albanian identity in the UK is necessary in order to forestall the process of fragmentation of the Kosovo Albanian diaspora community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper engages with conceptualisations of place and space to explore the ways in which London has been constructed, encountered and negotiated as a series of racialised and gendered locales. The paper draws upon oral history narratives of 11 women who emigrated from Ireland to Britain in the 1930s. Arriving in Paddington or Euston station, these young women were confronted with a vast and seemingly unknowable city. The modern city can be interpreted as potentially liberating for young women as well as potentially threatening and dangerous. In this paper I explore the ways in which these women, now in their late 80s and early 90s, describe their youthful mobility within the city and their active negotiation of places and spaces. As live-in domestic servants these women inhabited an in-between space. Their 'home' place was also their workplace, thus the usual boundaries between work and home, public and private did not apply. Their free time was associated not with the familial, private, domestic place but with public spaces such as streets, shops, dancehalls and cinemas. However, these Irish women encountered the city not just as a gendered place but also as a racialised environment where their Irishness defined them as 'other', alien and outsider. In this paper I aim to discover not only how they encountered the city but also, and more interestingly, what strategies they used to actively negotiate the city in ways that sought to transform its vastness and anonymity into places that were familiar, manageable and enjoyable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses a case study of activists in London's Arab communities to address the marginalisation of certain groups in academic analyses of 'race' and ethnicity. Theorisation of 'race' has become increasingly sophisticated, emphasising the fluidity of racial identities and the contextual specificity of racial ideologies and racialised practices. Yet very few empirical analyses of 'race' stray from the rigid categories of 'race' and ethnicity found in censuses and other official sources. The implication is that only certain groups 'count' as 'racial' and should be analysed in terms of 'race'. Using evidence gathered from intensive interviews with Arab community activists, this paper attempts to challenge rigid conceptions of 'race' and, in so doing, to move discussions of 'racial politics' beyond standard black-white dichotomies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking advantage of the *availability of 2011 England and Wales census microdata, and recognising the importance of internal migration in shaping the size and nature of communities, this paper seeks to identify and quantify the underlying determinants of internal migration of small cultural groups. The Jewish group is one of the longest present minority groups in Britain. Three other groups (Arab, Chinese, and Sikh), which have been present in significant numbers for a much shorter period, are also examined. Multivariate binary logistic regression has been applied to data extracted from the 2011 safeguarded microdata files, to understand whether, having controlled for the variables identified, there remain residual unexplained differences between Jewish, other smaller group, and general migration levels. The study shows that the initial wide variation in migration propensity between these cultural groups is partly explained by compositional differences between groups, but that even after controlling for individual-level socio-demographic characteristics, regional location and distance of migration, cultural differences in migration behaviour remain. Overall, the study shows that there are fewer differences between Jewish and white British migration levels than for the other three groups, for whom a small but significant 'cultural group penalty', inhibiting migration propensity, remains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about mortality among descendants of immigrants in western host countries because many descendants have not yet reached the ages of high mortality. The aim of this paper is to investigate whether the migrant mortality advantage recently observed among immigrants in England and Wales persists, converges to levels of the White England and Wales-born population or reverses among their descendants. Survival analysis is used to study mortality among over 500,000 individuals in a large, longitudinal dataset (Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study). A recent update to this data provides a longer time series with an older sample of descendants to study. The analysis finds that, as a combined group, the descendants of immigrants have higher mortality than immigrants and White England and Wales-born. After adjusting for socioeconomic characteristics, mortality among descendants attenuates to the mortality level among the White England and Wales-born but remains high relative to immigrants. Analysis by ethnic minority group suggests there are important differences in mortality among descendants, particularly in the persistent high mortality among the descendants of Black Caribbeans. However, the age structure among descendants is still young and the estimates for ethnic minority sub-groups may not be robust. We await the further ageing of descendants to confirm or challenge these interesting sub-group findings by ethnicity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Debates have persisted about the character of the East–West population flows that followed the EU expansions. Some of the discussions surround the extent to which the mobility has been temporal and hence how likely these migrants are to settle permanently or to stay for long periods in host countries. This paper enhances the understanding of such issues through examining survey data on 700 Polish recent migrants in seven English and Welsh towns and supplemented by an analysis of qualitative data. Three categories of migrants are initially identified on the basis of their intentions of stay in the UK. Multinomial logit models are then estimated to examine the characteristics of individuals in each category to establish the factors that influence migration strategies and changes in plans. Results indicate that although standard socio-economic characteristics tend to be insignificant, migration strategies and changes in intentions are affected by migrant's view of whether their job matches their expectations, the time of entry into the UK and remittances. Analysis of the qualitative information reinforces some of the key findings and also indicates the importance of migrants' ability to reference their experiences in two settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The belief is widespread in educational circles that ethnically mixed schools contribute to inter-ethnic tolerance and community cohesion. Some political science studies, however, have found that trust and participation are lower in ethnically diverse neighbourhoods. This paper explores the relation between classroom ethno-racial diversity, ethnic tolerance and participation in England, Sweden and Germany using data from the IEA Civic Education Study among 14-year-olds. Controlling for various conditions at the individual and classroom levels, it finds a positive effect of classroom diversity on ethnic tolerance in Sweden and Germany, which is in agreement with the contact perspective on inter-ethnic relations. However, it does not find an effect on tolerance in England. Moreover, classroom diversity only shows a positive relation with participation in Sweden. The effect of diversity thus varies substantially across the two outcomes of interest and the three countries examined. It is therefore tentatively concluded that country-specific factors shape this effect to a significant degree. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Whiteness is often detached from the notion of diaspora in the recent flurry of interest in the phenomenon, yet it is a key feature of some of the largest and oldest displacements. This paper explores the specific contexts of white racial belonging and status over two centuries in two main destinations of the Irish diaspora, the USA and Britain. Its major contribution is a tracing of the untold story of ‘How the Irish became white in Britain’ to parallel and contrast with the much more fully developed narrative in the USA. It argues that, contrary to popular belief, the racialisation of the Irish in England did not fade away at the end of the nineteenth century but became transmuted in new forms which have continued to place the ‘white’ Irish outside the boundaries of the English nation. These have been strangely ignored by social scientists, who conflate Irishness and working-class identities in England without acknowledging the distinctive contribution of Irish backgrounds to constructions of class difference. Gender locates Irish women and men differently in relation to these class positions, for example allowing mothers to be blamed for the perpetuation of the underclass. Class and gender are also largely unrecognised dimensions of Irish ethnicity in the USA, where the presence of ‘poor white’ neighbourhoods continues to challenge the iconic story of Irish upward mobility. Irishness thus remains central to the construction of mainstream ‘white’ identities in both the USA and Britain into the twenty-first century. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The politics of identity and difference are often intensely experienced and negotiated in everyday encounters. By examining the experiences of highly skilled Singaporean transmigrants in London and their projects of cosmopolitan self-fashioning, this paper highlights the way in which 'race' and nationality trouble claims to cosmopolitanism. In the analysis I consider the mixing of cultures and selective 'local' norms picked up by this group of migrants. I focus on the oscillating cultural framings that they navigate in their professional and social interactions, particularly in terms of phenotype, cultural discourse and bodily presentations. In so doing, I argue for a more critical view towards popular notions of cosmopolitanism currently in circulation and instead invoke an alternative cosmopolitan urbanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the lived realities of ethnic pluralism, social marginalisation and activism in the Alum Rock area of Birmingham, UK, which external media representations have tended to depict as lacking 'community cohesion' and fostering 'parallel lives'. Drawing on qualitative interviews with local residents and entrepreneurs conducted over a three-year period, we challenge such representations and a defining characteristic of currently dominant integration discourses: their tendency to ascribe 'community cohesion' or its absence as absolute properties to localities. Contrary to such reifying classifications, our interview data reveal considerably more complex social realities defined by a series of ambivalences. The first ambivalence is between undeniable local conflicts and, simultaneously, the everyday 'conviviality' of boundary-crossings and inter-ethnic solidarities. Second, the local economy is shown to enable both cohesion and ethnic exclusion. Finally, local politics and religious practice also display contradictory tendencies towards boundary maintenance on the one hand, and new inclusive alliances on the other. The emerging picture of Alum Rock not only challenges rigid taxonomies implied by 'community cohesion' discourses but also poses important questions about inter- and intra-ethnic networks, religiously underpinned social capital, the locally 'embedded' market, perceptions of social change, and an ideologically heterogeneous local civil society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with migration across national borders but within state boundaries; specifically, movement between England and Scotland. It focuses on an under-researched area—the medium-term migration behaviour and motivations of graduates—within a demographic and political context where there is a premium on the attraction of highly qualified migrants. It examines the potential influence of national identities upon migration and long-term settlement among this group. The status of 'English' graduate migrants as an 'audible minority' in Scotland is highlighted. Identification and affinity with Scotland are widespread, and can be developed through a number of routes, thus indicating a positive potential for turning 'migrants' into 'settlers' in order to meet demographic and political objectives. However, there are also significant barriers to belonging which relate to the national identities of migrants. This shows that incongruity between formal citizenship and belonging may be a significant feature not only for those who migrate between states, but also for migrants who cross national borders within the same state, and this in turn may influence their future migration decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the commercial exploitation of ethnic diaspora-based networks. Using qualitative data from four London minority-owned enterprises, diaspora-based linkages in the UK and beyond are examined and the implications for policy discussed. We conclude that, under certain conditions, diaspora-based networks enable higher levels of business competitiveness. They facilitate access to resources and markets by minority-owned businesses, particularly for those supplying ethnic goods and services,. Exploiting diaspora-based networks effectively depends not only on business owners' capabilities and motivations to do so but also on diaspora structures—their size, geographical and sectoral locations—and the resources and opportunities they make available to business owners. Conversely, in certain circumstances, engagement with diaspora-based networks can constrain business competitiveness, particularly where this restricts the resources and markets available. Diaspora-based networks are potentially important influences on business competitiveness but do not negate the importance of class resources such as property, education and skills in processes of business formation and development among minority groups. The implications for existing theory and for policy are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been an ongoing national debate over the causes and consequences of the evolution of patterns of residence of ethnic minority populations in British cities. This has gained particular prominence since the publication of the Cantle Report, which highlighted ethnic segregation as one of the causes underlying the racialised disturbances in certain northern cities in 2001. In this paper, the geographies of ethnic populations are identified in Leeds, a northern city affected by minor disturbances within its multi-ethnic inner-city. A newly developed set of ‘community areas’ is used to examine the extent to which specific ethnic minority groups are spatially concentrated within the city. The analysis focuses upon Leeds’ South Asian population, highlighting the spatial diversity of sub-groups within it and contrasting their geographies with those of other ethnic groups. Change between 1991 and 2001 is examined in inner Leeds at ward level, where geographical boundaries have remained consistent; evidence is found for deconcentration. Thereafter, each of the main forces responsible for shaping the patterns of ethnic settlement is considered in more detail, drawing on data from a survey of South Asian households in the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the responses of adults of white ethnicity in three English villages to media coverage of the attacks of 11 September 2001. We analyse how news narratives set up particular kinds of identification with which audiences engage and/or disengage. We highlight the emotional, ambivalent and contradictory nature of identifications and dis-identifications which respondents make with the victims and perpetrators of the attacks. We explore their notions, expressed explicitly and implicitly, about Englishness, normality and niceness, perceptions of Islam and Muslims, and the joint American and British military action. Their accounts are shaped by, and form part of, ongoing negotiations of identity and subjectivity that are triggered by media consumption: they constitute forms of ‘self narration’. In particular we examine the intertwining of emotional responses and modes of reasoning, discourses of ordinariness as a means of encompassing ‘others’ and questions of audience agency in relation to the regulation of social conduct. We argue that the strong perception among our informants that the British media and the Labour government are tightly constrained by discourses of political correctness is also reflected in their own accounts. We found a great deal of nervousness about what it is possible to say, and fear about openly expressing blatantly racist views. Thus what is not said—absences and pregnant pauses in their utterances—requires inferential analysis if we are to glean a fuller picture of our respondents’ reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper endeavours to show that one can speak of legal pluralism in the English context. Muslim law in Britain exists both on an official level, where recognition is given by the legal system, and on an unofficial level where the official legal system refuses its recognition. Unofficial Muslim law has been applied in non-dispute situations of everyday lives of Muslims. Marriages and divorces are arranged according to the rules of Muslim law and customs. Muslim individuals apply relevant law in various contextual situations aiming to meet the demands of different overlapping normative orderings. This post-modern phenomenon reminds us that legal modernity has limits and that legal post-modernity is a reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent literature on international migrants employed in the lower echelons of the labour market in London has signalled the need to pay more attention to the resources that migrants deploy as well as greater holism in analysis. I suggest in this article that these gaps might be filled using a human wellbeing approach. It is argued that the key advantage of the human wellbeing concept is that it serves as an umbrella or unifying framework that brings together ideas from across a range of disciplines (economics, psychology, sociology) into a common space or conceptual frame, highlighting the complex interplay that exists between material, perceptual and relational dimensions. Application of a human wellbeing approach to the field of international migration has the potential to fill gaps in existing paradigms within migration studies such as transnationalism and multiculturalism. This article also speaks to debates on international migration and social policy, and applies a human wellbeing approach to the case of Peruvian migrants in London. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a response to comments made by Michael Poulsen, R Johnston, and James Forrest on the article "Slippery segregation: discovering or manufacturing ghettos," by Ceri Peach. Topics discussed include the existence of ghettos in England, Pakistani immigrants, and minority populations. The author criticizes Poulsen, Johnston, and Forrest for using lax definitions of the term "ghetto" to undermine her own research. Speeches made by Trevor Phillips, former Chair of the Commission for Racial Equality, are examined.

In Britain, there is much concern in policy and public discourse about immigrant integration and social cohesion. But how do immigrants themselves perceive the process of settlement in the UK? This question is examined through exploration of the work strategies developed by Ghanaian immigrants in London in their quest to live a decent life. We explore three issues: how Ghanaians negotiate relations of power in developing viable work strategies in London; how those strategies are shaped or mediated by family, community ties and social networks; and how Ghanaians themselves define and live 'integration' and cohesion. Our results indicate that some Ghanaians experience a 'levelling' process in their work lives in London, where they continually juggle between job exploitation, racism and inadequate pay. In addition, Ghanaians maintain strong family and community ties, a tradition carried over from Ghana. Distinct from the idea that weak ties outside one's community are likely to provide the most relevant and adequate information and resources, we found that weak ties within the community provide the same function. Finally, immigrants tend to define 'integration' differently to 'sense of belonging'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sites of Muslim settlement in the UK are frequently portrayed as poorly integrated and governed areas – a situation that is often attributed to the excessive cultural and religious accommodation of Muslim minorities under flawed policies of state multiculturalism. Through a case study of an English city, Birmingham, home to the UK's largest Muslim population outside of London, I argue that sites of Muslim settlement have, rather, been subject to extraordinary and punitive governing practices. These governing practices moreover rely for their legitimacy on the portrayal of these sites as poorly integrated and governed. Nevertheless, whilst areas of Muslim settlement have been subject to spatially focused, punitive forms of governance, these have not necessarily been fully coherent and they have also been contested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2004 significant numbers of post-accession EU migrants have arrived in regional towns and rural areas of England to live and work: places that are unaccustomed to large-scale in-migration. These recent migration patterns mean that new intercultural encounters are taking place in a number of provincial and 'out of the way' places [Nayak 2011. "Geography, Race and Emotions: Social and Cultural Intersections." Social and Cultural Geography 12 (6): 548–562]. This article argues that if we are to fully understand the social interactions and practices of exclusion and inclusion between long-term settled populations and migrants in rural areas that are experiencing new migration flows, it is vital to examine such processes at the local scale. The article draws on 12 months of ethnographic fieldwork, including 30 semi-structured qualitative interviews, to explore English village resident's perceptions of Eastern European migrants who live and work at nearby horticultural nurseries. Village residents' narratives reveal a discourse of migrants 'fitting in' with the collectively held place image of the 'working village'. However, my findings also reveal that, despite this apparent conviviality, a language of invisibility is used to describe the migrants' presence. Thus, the place image of the working village serves to mask ambivalent attitudes towards migrants and an unequal power relationship that exists between the two groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data on new migrants to England from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, we show how a key component of migrant integration - labour market progress in terms of wages and unemployment rates – is broadly positive in the early years after arrival across a range of migrant groups and across gender. However, the precise level of labour market success achieved varies considerably across groups reflecting both the initial entry-level and labour market trajectories after migration. Migrants from Western Europe and the Old Commonwealth countries have unemployment rates (wages) which are generally lower (higher) than other groups, particularly non-white groups, while migrants from the Accession countries experience relatively low unemployment but also low wages. Groups which have better outcomes on entry also tend to experience higher rates of progress over time in England. However, the extent of multiple deprivation in the local authority where migrants reside interacts with years since migration to dampen wage trajectories for some groups and accounting for deprivation highlights the importance of internal migration for access to employment. The results emphasise structural explanations for patterns of labour market integration of new migrants to England. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contributes to understanding how collective identification as well as institutional factors affects migrants' democratic engagement. In particular, it analyses variations in patterns of voting behaviour at local elections among migrants living in two municipalities: Malmö (Sweden) and Ealing (London, UK). Empirically, the article compares the responses of Somalis and Poles (N: 68) with regard to (i) their democratic participation in the society of residence and (ii) their perceived identification with their in-group and with Sweden and the UK, respectively. Using narrative analysis to understand the impact of collective identification and of the political context on migrants' voting behaviour, the article will show that favourable institutional and discursive structures of opportunities can formally enable migrants to democratically engage with the society they live in. However, political opportunity structures are not enough to mobilise migrant groups. A dual identification with the recipient society and their in-group promotes a sense of entitlement to political rights and positively affects participation in local elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the second-generation Irish in Britain, and presents findings of the relationship between particular social characteristics and predictions of the likelihood of second-generation Irish selecting 'White Irish' or 'White British' in the 2001 Census in England and Wales. Using a combination of new quantitative data and earlier (unpublished) qualitative evidence, it analyses the complexity underlying the public claiming of a British or Irish identity in the Census and argues that it is not possible to predict that individuals with the closest attachments to Ireland will necessarily select the 'White Irish' category nor that those who select 'White British' inevitably have weaker ties. The ONS Longitudinal Survey data presented here reveal that age, gender, marital status, educational qualifications, upward social mobility and number of Irish-born parents are significant social characteristics increasing the likelihood of particular selections of census category. The article discusses the form of the ethnic question and its impact on response patterns, proposed revisions for the 2011 Census, and the usefulness or otherwise of census categories as a lens for examining second-generation identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although problems facing minority ethnic households in rural areas have been largely overlooked within studies of 'race' and racism, an emerging body of research has begun to challenge 'problem-free' constructions of the countryside by illustrating the pervasiveness of racialised 'othering' in rural environments. In the context of a rapidly expanding minority ethnic rural population, images of the English countryside's 'white landscape' will bear increasingly less resonance as the make-up of rural towns and villages continues to diversify over time. This article outlines some of the key challenges facing researchers and policy-makers seeking to address problems of rural racism. It illustrates the manner in which rural minority ethnic households' vulnerability is exacerbated by the enduring appeal of idyllicised [mis]constructions of rurality and the ineffectiveness of agency responses to racist victimisation, and explores ways of developing sustainable improvements to policy, research and conceptual frameworks in the context of the increasing diversification of rural space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Statistics from the 2001 census of population in England and Wales reveal the extent of ethnic and religious mixing among married and cohabiting couples. Non-marital cohabitation and mixed marriages are infrequent in the South Asian (Hindu, Sikh and Muslim) groups; they are common among the Black and especially the mixed ethnicity subpopulations. Mixed partnerships influence the future ethnic composition of the country, and there are signs that the Black Caribbean group is merging into the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well established that the workplace provides an important site for the production of gender identities. However, it is less-well understood how this identity construction might operate in the context of migrant workers, who bring with them particular notions of gender from their countries of origin that interact with 'local' gender practices. Through an in-depth case study of a London hotel and hospital, masculinity and economic status were observed to be intricately related in the ways in which male migrants described their work performances in terms of either 'women's work' or 'lower-class work'. Men originating from middle- and upper-class economic positions were observed to be 'flexible' with their economic identity and take on work considered 'lower-class' in their country of origin in order to contest their gender identities in the UK. In contrast, men who migrated for economic gain and had family obligations to send remittances were observed to be 'strategically' flexible with their gender identities and often performed what they considered to be 'women's work' in order to be able to fulfil economic expectations. We suggest that a migrant's willingness and/or desire to enact 'flexible and strategic masculinities' is tied to the perceived trade-offs of his/her employment in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the Madrid and London train-bombings, perceptions of the sources of Islamic terrorism changed. The British response to domestic jihadism was to apply community-policing principles to counter-terrorism enforcement. This essay describes the origins and intentions of the community-based policing of terrorism and partnership programmes with Muslim faith organisations. Collaboration with Muslim partners has helped to build confidence within government agencies that Muslim leaders are keen to curb terrorism, but has failed to build trust among the general Muslim public. The application of community-policing principles is, it is argued, an effort to bridge steep trade-offs between effective prevention and the social and political integration of Britain's Muslims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article brings together ideas from medical anthropology on so-called medical pluralism, and a transnational lens in migration studies. It examines how legal status, transnational networks and religion interrelate in health practices among Ghanaians living in London. It provides an overview of the settlement of Ghanaians in London since the 1960s, and shows how transnational linkages have increased since then. It further demonstrates the strong transnational components health practices can have, including money, medicines and prayers being sent between Ghana and abroad, and between different European countries. ‘Transnational therapy networks’ is proposed as a term to describe health-related activities which span Europe and Africa. These are interlaced situational, formal and informal contacts between people which become meaningful in the event of sickness, providing financial and practical support and help in finding the right treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the responses of Turkish-speaking migrants in London to the events surrounding September 11. I argue that they have developed a ‘transnational sensibility’ which was rendered problematic when political leaders demanded loyalty to ‘us’ and opposition to ‘them’. A transnational sensibility defies the logics and loyalties of modern political systems. The limits of multicultural tolerance are reached: transnational identities and the transnational television channels that cater for this diverse Turkish-speaking audience were deemed threatening to social order. Facing this sense of displacement, the study shows how Turkish-speaking migrants were forced to think intensively about their situation. This process entailed active news consumption as migrants sought reliable information. But such varied consumption led to growing scepticism towards all media. The article concludes by considering the different modes of thinking available to migrants with a transnational sensibility, and argues that dialogue between dogmatic thinking based on experience and open, flexible thinking can enable migrants to reach a pragmatic, tactical approach to loyalty and identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a contribution to the growing literature on contemporary forms of global mobility, we consider young New Zealanders who move to the UK for a period of work and travel, typically basing themselves in London. Beyond consideration of career opportunities, we find formulations of the self as creative project to be remarkably central to the mobility of these New Zealanders. Their time in London is often understood as a period of exploration, travel and new experiences. We note also the distinctive role that friendship networks play in sustaining and shaping this movement, in both practical and less tangible ways. Significantly, we find that these friendship networks are themselves mobile, in some cases undergoing almost complete temporary relocation from New Zealand to the UK. This raises questions about how we think about contemporary international mobility, and the significance of friendship as opposed to kin or neighbourhood relations within it. We conclude with a series of schematic statements regarding what is needed to more fully come to terms with the distinctive forms of mobility that these New Zealanders—and the Australians, South Africans and Canadians with whom they have much in common—embody as a way of lift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The starting point of this research was the concern that the circumstances, let alone quality of life, of those who migrated to England during the postwar period and who are now progressing into early old age and retirement, have only recently become an issue for research and policy. The study treats quality of life as a phenomenon (comprising the domains control, autonomy, pleasure, and self-realisation) distinct from its potential influences. Qualitative interviews with respondents from four ethnically homogeneous groups (Jamaican Caribbean, Gujarati Indian Hindu, Punjabi Pakistani, and white English) identified six factors that influenced their quality of life: having a role, support networks, income and wealth, health, having time, and independence. Findings suggest that while both the influences on quality of life and the domains of quality of life were consistent across the ethnic groups, it was the ways in which they played out in people's lives that revealed ethnic variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent legislative, social and political developments in the UK have drawn attention to minority ethnic communities' experiences and perceptions of crime and the racialised discrimination suffered by such communities at various stages of the criminal justice system. This research note further explores these issues by discussing the findings of a study which examined the views of minority ethnic communities based in the predominantly rural English county of Suffolk. Utilising a range of quantitative and qualitative methods, the study uncovered both high levels of victimisation and widespread fear of crime amongst minority ethnic respondents, together with major concerns about the effective and equitable operation of the criminal justice system. A number of suggestions are made with regard to addressing these concerns, and it is argued that particular features of rural areas can serve to intensify such groups' feelings of alienation from the workings of the criminal justice system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the experiences of South Asian households on domestic finance in London, England. Influence of the level of education and economic activity of women on access to domestic finance; Variation in the organization of domestic finance between white and South Asian households; Controller of domestic finance in lower income households.