Abstract
Until recently, Britain established its image as an open society promoting culture of inclusion. The narratives of multiculturalism were prevalent in debates spanning across various state functions from granting visas, employment opportunities, granting citizenship status to migrant community, societal attitudes towards marrying foreign spouses, interreligious harmony, cravings for great potpourri of world-wide cuisines, and learning diverse languages. Perceptions of society are constructed with everyday experiences, and ideas play important role in this regard. The debate is contextualized in British society that has been experiencing transforming attitudes from being more open to integration of migrants in past to considering immigrants as a source of rising insecurity. The study establishes that the threat discourse related to surge of immigrants cannot be understood without unfolding the concept of security as spanning across societal, criminological, economic, and political gamut on one hand, and nexus between societal perceptions and state policy on the other hand.
Keyword(s)
Immigration, Britain, Perceptions, threat discourse, Politics, Economy, Crime, identity