The UK migration policy regime, from ecofascism to externalisation

Join us for two talks on the UK's migration regime!

Offshoring and Externalisation Reimagined: Exploring Colonial Durabilities in the UK-Rwanda Scheme

Beth Porter, Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield 

The ill-fated UK-Rwanda policy is frequently portrayed as a ‘seismic juncture’ in Britain’s history of migration management - a drastic turn away from the country's long-standing commitment to asylum and into unchartered waters (Bar-Tuvia, 2018; Drakeley, 2023). Combining Stoler’s (2008) concept of ‘colonial durabilities’ with historical sociology and critical realism, this presentation shares initial findings that provide an alternative perspective. In analysing (dis)continuities between the Rwanda policy (2022-24) and the Sierra Leone Resettlement Scheme (1786-91), it demonstrates how practices of offshoring pursued by British colonial powers are reactivated in the present, (re)producing with them similar lived experiences over two centuries later. Crucially, however, it will explore how colonial-racial thinking continues to underpin externalisation schemes like the Rwanda policy, reinscribing long-standing racialised hierarchies of people and places and patterns of domination, exploitation, abandonment and resistance in their attempts to keep certain populations out of the ‘modern’ geographies of the Global North.

Playing with Fear: The Narrative Spread of Ecofascism and its Normalisation and Impact on the UK's Public and Media Discourse

Sara Hill, Politics and International Relations, University of Sheffield

This talk will offer an introduction to my research with particular focus on analysis of how ecofascist narratives impact the treatment of migrants and refugees in the UK. I am just beginning my PhD journey and am keen to make connections with other people working in this field. It would be a short presentation to describe my research plan in its current form and the context on ecofascism with an invitation for feedback.