ABSTRACT
Since World War II, millions of immigrants from developing countries have settled in Western Europe. Immigration and immigrant integration have become some of the most salient political issues in Europe over the last two decades. During the post-war recovery, many European countries began to import temporary labor. These workers initially came from Southern Europe and later from former colonies and other developing countries like Turkey. With the economic slowdown of the early 1970s, most European countries stopped importing labor. However, many of the temporary workers settled permanently, and because of family reunification and asylum policies, large flows of immigrants and asylum seekers continued to enter Europe. The settlement of these populations, many from Muslim backgrounds, has led to the development of a variety of policies related to immigrant integration. This chapter examines the history of immigration policymaking in Britain and France, particularly since World War II. These country comparisons shed light on how differences in institutional structures and party politics impact policymaking, particularly for a policy area that arouses feelings of nationalism (i.e., nativism) and fear. Both countries had long histories of empire and colonialism which impacted the flow of immigrants as well as the type of citizenship for which they were eligible.
