Mayblin, L. orcid.org/0000-0001-6602-2091 (2016) Complexity reduction and policy consensus: asylum seekers, the right to work, and the ‘pull factor’ thesis in the UK context. British Journal of Politics and International Relations. ISSN 1369-1481
Abstract
Since the early 2000s, asylum policy in Western states has become increasingly dominated by the concept of the ‘pull factor’—the idea that the economic rights afforded to asylum seekers can act as a migratory pull, and will have a bearing on the numbers of asylum applications received. The pull factor thesis has been widely discredited by researchers but remains powerful among policymakers. Through an analysis of the pull factor in the UK context, and drawing on insights from Cultural Political Economy, this article argues that the hegemony of the pull factor thesis is best understood as a ‘policy imaginary’ which has become sedimented through both discursive and extra-discursive practices and processes. The article offers a means of understanding how a common sense assumption—which is challenged by a large body of evidence—has come to dominate policymaking in a key area of concern for politicians and policymakers.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 Mayblin. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in British Journal of Politics and International Relations. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | asylum seekers; Cultural Political Economy; policy imaginaries; pull factor |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Politics and International Relations (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL ES/L011468/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 01 Aug 2016 09:59 |
Last Modified: | 03 Nov 2016 17:50 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1369148116656986 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/1369148116656986 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:102660 |