IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP

Immigration and Citizenship

Immigration and Citizenship

Introduction

The migration of people from one territory to another is one of the oldest practices of mankind. However, immigration policy is a broad label encompassing a range of different and formally unrelated issues as diverse as the Viking settlement of Anglo-Saxon England following the Roman withdrawal in 410 CE; the triangular trade in slaves up to the 19th century; European immigration to the New World in the 19th and 20th centuries, and large-scale resettlements following conflicts such as World War II, the 1947 India-Pakistan War, and the Rwandan genocide of 1994. The first part of this contribution sets out what these issues are in the countries listed above before moving on to consider how they have been analyzed in political science.

The Century of Expansion

At its peak, the British Empire covered a huge swathe of the world's surface with dominions, Crown colonies, and protectorates in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Oceania. Currently, the United Kingdom retains 14 overseas territories, and there are still 53 countries in the Commonwealth, established in the late 19th century, 16 of which accept Queen Elisabeth II as their monarch. Industrialization, trade and commerce, scientific discovery, and competition with other European powers fed British overseas expansion. The churches participated in this process, engaging in international missions (Gober & Tyner, 2003). The first Lambeth Conference, the decennial meeting of leaders from the Worldwide Anglican Communion, held in 1867 demonstrates the burgeoning consciousness of a global Anglican church.

Britons saw it as their Christian duty to bring the Gospel to and civilize the colonized peoples: the White man's burden. Evangelicalism, with its emphasis on individual conversion and religious experience, facilitated the development of lay, voluntary missions. The churches, the Church of England in particular, became associated with the abolition of slavery, though it was the Evangelicals who finally pushed for it; their mission was thus associated with colonial imperialism (International Organization for Migration, 2005).

The religious landscape changed at home as it did abroad. With rapid industrialization and consequent urbanization, the churches had to adapt to the presence of large, often impoverished populations in cities and towns. This fostered a large-scale and at times competitive church-building program and the further growth of Nonconformism, especially in Wales. In 1831, John Nelson Darby founded the Plymouth Brethren, with a strong emphasis on mission, baptism, and equality. William Booth founded the Salvation Army along military lines in 1878. These are two examples of British sects that developed in the 19th century and have survived into the 21st century. Interest in Eastern religions and spiritualism also grew.

In 1843, the “Disruption” occurred in the Church of Scotland, when many ministers and members left to found the Free Church of Scotland in protest over the political patronage of the clergy. The church's authority to elect its own ministers was eventually reinstated in 1874.

Irish Catholic disaffection grew, especially with the British government's deplorable handling of the Great Famine (1845-1852), during which the Irish population decreased by ...