Channel crossings: offshoring asylum and the afterlife of empire in the Dover Strait

Thom  Davies; Arshad  Isakjee; Lucy  Mayblin; Joe Turner

doi:10.1080/01419870.2021.1925320

Channel crossings: offshoring asylum and the afterlife of empire in the Dover Strait

Thom Davies, Arshad Isakjee, Lucy Mayblin, Joe Turner

Politics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

In 2020, over 8,400 people made their way from France to the UK coast using small vessels. They did so principally in order to claim asylum in the United Kingdom (UK). Much like in other border-zones, the UK state has portrayed irregular Channel crossings as an invading threat and has deployed a militarized response. While there is burgeoning scholarship focusing on informal migrant camps in the Calais area, there has been little analysis of state responses to irregular Channel crossings. This article begins to address this gap, situating contemporary British responses to irregular Channel crossers within the context of colonial histories and maritime legacies. We focus particularly on the enduring appeal of “the offshore” as a place where undesirable racialized populations can be placed. Our aim is to offer a historicized perspective on this phenomenon which seeks to respond to calls to embed colonial histories in analyses of the present.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	2307-2327
Number of pages	21
Journal	ETHNIC AND RACIAL STUDIES
Volume	44
Issue number	13
Early online date	17 May 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2021.1925320
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 17 May 2021

Bibliographical note

Access to Document

10.1080/01419870.2021.1925320Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Channel crossings: offshoring asylum and the afterlife of empire in the Dover Strait
© 2021 The Author(s).
Final published version, 2.55 MBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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abstract = "In 2020, over 8,400 people made their way from France to the UK coast using small vessels. They did so principally in order to claim asylum in the United Kingdom (UK). Much like in other border-zones, the UK state has portrayed irregular Channel crossings as an invading threat and has deployed a militarized response. While there is burgeoning scholarship focusing on informal migrant camps in the Calais area, there has been little analysis of state responses to irregular Channel crossings. This article begins to address this gap, situating contemporary British responses to irregular Channel crossers within the context of colonial histories and maritime legacies. We focus particularly on the enduring appeal of “the offshore” as a place where undesirable racialized populations can be placed. Our aim is to offer a historicized perspective on this phenomenon which seeks to respond to calls to embed colonial histories in analyses of the present.",

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