The British migration-citizenship regime : from decolonisation to Brexit

Benson, Michaela (2026) The British migration-citizenship regime : from decolonisation to Brexit. In: The Modern World after Colonialism : Remaking the Social Sciences. Bristol University Press, Bristol. ISBN 9781529252118 (In Press)

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Abstract

Objectives • This chapter asks how recognising connected sociologies and histories transforms how we understand who can move, where, and on what terms, today • It sets out the connections between the formation of national citizenships and the colonial governance of populations, including their access to mobility. This is illustrated through a retelling of the development of the British immigration and citizenship regime over the course of the twentieth century • It examines, in detail, the shifting status of the people of Hong Kong to demonstrate the significance of the coloniality of British citizenship for making sense of the post-Brexit migration regime • It reveals that the provisionality and contingency of the legal statuses are an integral mechanism of migration governance