ABSTRACT
Over the last two decades the social entitlements of those seeking refuge within the United Kingdom (UK) have been dramatically altered to reflect a growing political consensus that citizens’ rights should be prioritized over the rights of the asylum seeking community (Bales 2013). As a result, asylum seekers’ access to work is now severely restricted and they are supported through a separate welfare benefits system that grants weekly cash payments at approximately half the level afforded to national citizens. Despite a wealth of non-governmental organization (NGO) data documenting the serious negative effects of the asylum support system including poverty, malnutrition and depression (Refugee Action 2010; Teather et al 2013; Carnet et al 2014), the UK government continues to implement restrictive policies upon the asylum-seeking community, most recently evidenced by the government’s reduction in support rates for children via the Asylum Support (Amendment No 3) Regulations 2015, SI 2015/1501 and the complete withdrawal of support from failed asylum-seeking families who refuse to return under Part 5 of the Immigration Act 2016. The overarching justification for these restrictions is that “people that have not established the right to be in the UK should not have access to welfare provisions on the same basis as those whose citizenship or status gives them an entitlement” (Home Office 1998, para. 8.18). Immigration status as opposed to need is thus the key factor in determining access to means tested benefits within the UK. This chapter’s objective is to make sense of this discrepancy between the social rights of citizens and those of asylum seekers using the conceptual lens of nationalism. Though social exclusion on the basis of national origin and citizenship is often explored within academia (Benhabib 2004; Morris 2003, 2009; Anderson 2013), this chapter seeks to advance the literature by building upon the idea that social provisions serve as a marker of national identity. As a result, changes to welfare state policies can lead to different conceptions of “nation” which serve to reinforce social exclusion and the othering of specific groups such as asylum seekers.
