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5 - A New World Order

Conclusion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2021

Becky Taylor
Affiliation:
University of East Anglia
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Summary

The end of the twentieth century saw a significant change – quantitatively and qualitatively – in refugees coming to Britain. As the post-Cold War world saw growing numbers fleeing a constellation of state collapse, civil war, environmental disaster and economic stagnation, 1990s Britain saw an absolute increase in the number of asylum applications. It also saw a shift away from the entry of distinct blocks of refugees towards the piecemeal entry of individuals seeking refuge. These two trends came together, combining with Britain’s continued restriction of extra-European immigration, to ensure two things. First, that Britain’s stated commitment to refugee rights via the Refugee Convention became undermined by a determination to reduce the number of successful asylum applications. Through repeated legislation, the burden of proof an individual needed to make a successful application became ever greater. Second, despite assertive grassroots activism, new measures – dispersal, detention and ever-more restricted access to welfare support and legal employment – all served to marginalise asylum seekers from the mainstream population. While these sought to underline the difference between, and the competing claims of, asylum seekers and the ‘hard working poor’, in fact both faced the consequences of a retreating state, shrinking affordable housing and the erosion of universal welfare.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • A New World Order
  • Becky Taylor, University of East Anglia
  • Book: Refugees in Twentieth-Century Britain
  • Online publication: 23 April 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316946299.006
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  • A New World Order
  • Becky Taylor, University of East Anglia
  • Book: Refugees in Twentieth-Century Britain
  • Online publication: 23 April 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316946299.006
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • A New World Order
  • Becky Taylor, University of East Anglia
  • Book: Refugees in Twentieth-Century Britain
  • Online publication: 23 April 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316946299.006
Available formats
×