An end to asylum? The securitization of asylum seekers in the United Kingdom from 2010-2017

Abstract

The recent UK ‘Brexit’ referendum on EU membership saw immigration emerge as a divisive debate. While the referendum did not initiate the insecurities and social divide regarding asylum policy, it did help to politically mobilize them. Many studies have explored the security logic on migration and asylum in the EU, which has served to legitimize restrictive measures. This dissertation explores the extent and ways in which asylum seekers have entered the security agenda in the United Kingdom (UK). As a global leader, the UK provides a fitting setting to consider how asylum policy has become securitized. Examining the timeframe of May 2010 to May 2017, this study provides a contemporary analysis of securitization of migration and asylum seekers in the UK. A restrictive approach to asylum has become dominant within the EU; the process through which this has happened warrants attention. A narrow focus on speech acts and discourse analysis is inadequate to answer this research question. Rather, this paper examines the discursive and nondiscursive processes of securitization. This study will draw on the strengths of the Copenhagen School (CS) and the Paris School (PS) to provide a comprehensive understanding of the process of securitization. It offers a theoretical contribution to securitization theory, underlining the necessity of looking at both discursive and nondiscursive elements of the process of securitization.