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Rebordering Britain & Britons after Brexit

Mapping social science research on Brexit and migration

This fully searchable database lists peer-reviewed journal articles on Brexit and migration published in social science journals since May 2015. It will be updated periodically. For our initial review of this body of work see our 2022 article published in Migration Studies From state of the art to new directions in research what Brexit means for migration and migrants.

578 articles

Stories from a migrant city: Living and working together in the shadow of Brexit
This book intervenes in the immigration debate, showing how moving away from a racialized local/ migrant dichotomy can help to unite people on the basis of their common humanity. Drawing on over one hundred stories and eight years of research in a provincial English city…
Subversive citizens: using EU free movement law to bypass the UK's rules on marriage migration
In 2012, new and restrictive spousal reunification laws were implemented in the UK. EU free movement rules, however, have enabled British citizens to circumvent those restrictions by residing for a period in another Member State, and then returning with their family member to the UK.
Switzerland-EU relations: Lessons for the UK after brexit?
This book offers an up-to-date assessment of the state of Switzerland-EU relations with the aim of drawing lessons from the Swiss experience to shed light on the challenges facing the UK post-Brexit and, more broadly, on how non-member states can adapt to "integration without membership".
Symposium Introduction: The Paradox of Structure: The UK State, Society and 'Brexit'
Ostensibly motivated by 'taking back control', is Brexit an opportunity to enhance the UK's capacity for self-government? If driven by an aspiration to maximise the central state's governing autonomy, it confronts a paradox: governance structures at once enable action and constrain it.
Talking about Bordering
In the summer of 2019 as the UK was in the midst of heated Brexit debates and Theresa May's minority government clung on to power, Professor Louise Ryan interviewed Professor Nira Yuval-Davis about her recent book Bordering (Yuval-Davis, Wemyss and Cassidy 2019).
Temporal clustering of hate crimes in the aftermath of the Brexit vote and terrorist attacks: A comparison of Scotland and England and Wales
This study examines the temporal clustering of hate crimes in Scotland, England and Wales in the wake of the Brexit vote and the 2017 terrorist attacks. Using an interrupted time-series design…
Temporalities of Emergent Axiomatic Violence in Brexit Scotland
Following an acrimonious referendum on European Union membership, the UK was plunged into chaos as people attempted to negotiate a deeply divided domestic political landscape. In Scotland, things were further complicated by the independence question and the Scottish National Party's (SNP)…
Temporary Migration Programmes: the Cause or Antidote of Migrant Worker Exploitation in UK Agriculture
The referendum result in Britain in 2016 and the potential loss of EU labour in the advent of a `hard Brexit' has raised pressing questions for sectors that rely on EU labour, such as agriculture. Coupled with the closure of the long-standing Seasonal Agricultural Scheme in 2013…
THE BREXIT: BRAKE TO THE INTERNATIONAL MOBILITY OF THE UNEMPLOYED?
On June 23, 2016 was held in the UK and Gibraltar a referendum on the permanence of the UK in the European Union. With a narrow outcome in favour of the referendum, on 29 March, the departure of the European Union was activated, which, among many other issues…
The changing status of European Union nationals in the United Kingdom following Brexit: The lived experience of the European Union Settlement Scheme
Following Brexit, European Union citizens now find their rights to live and work in the UK have changed and they had to make an application under the European Union Settlement Scheme, established under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement…
The 'Channel Crossings' and the borders of Britain
Since November 2018, a small but increased number of migrants have risked their lives attempting to cross the waters of the English Channel from northern France to reach Britain. Throughout and alongside the final protracted phase of the Brexit process, governing politicians…
The complex social security provisions of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, to be implemented for decades
This article analyses the provisions in the withdrawal agreement regarding the coordination of the social security schemes of the United Kingdom and the Member States after Brexit. The UK's withdrawal from the EU raises numerous questions about the consequences for the social security rights…
The contradictions of islandness: The small island of St Helena and the emotions of transnationalism
This paper investigates the emotions of transnationalism, when coming from the small, remote British Overseas Territory of St Helena. This paper captures how St Helenian islanders migrate for new opportunities and to escape island monotony. Even though dispersed…
The costs and benefits of leaving the EU: trade effects
This paper estimates the welfare effects of Brexit in the medium to long run, focusing on trade and fiscal transfers. We use a standard quantitative general equilibrium trade model with many countries and sectors and trade in intermediates.
The dark side of onward migration: Experiences and strategies of Italian-Bangladeshis in the UK at the time of the post-Brexit referendum
Drawing on multisited qualitative research in Italy and the UK, this paper documents the dark side of onward migration and the experiences faced by Italian-Bangladeshis in the UK after the Brexit referendum. The findings show that compared to their position in Italy…
The distribution of EU students and staff at UK universities: patterns and trends
The mobility of EU students and staff is threatened by Brexit, as the favourable conditions allowing for a frictionless cross-border academic learning and scientific research base are renegotiated at the highest political levels…
The economic consequences of leaving European Union by Great Britain
Motivation: In a referendum on June 23, 2016, the British people voted to leave the Eu- ropean Union. No nation state has ever left the EU. The theory and practice of European integration is rich, but scientific studies considering the opposite situation thus far do not exist.
The economic effects of the UK government's proposed Brexit deal
The focus of our analysis is on how the UK government's proposed Brexit deal is likely to affect the economy. First, we assess how trade, migration, foreign direct investment, productivity and contributions to the EU budget might change by reviewing current proposals against historical evidence.
The economic impact of Brexit-induced reductions in migration
We analyse the determinants of migration flows to the UK, and the impact of restrictions on free movement post-Brexit, in both the short and long term. We then provide plausible…
The economic impact of potential migration policies in the UK after Brexit
The bulk of studies which attempt to quantify the effects of Brexit focus on trade issues; however, very few of them have analysed migration. In this paper, we analyse the impact of several migration policies on GDP, GDP per capita, wages, national income and sectoral production in the UK…
The economics of UK-EU relations: From the treaty of rome to the vote for brexit
This book brings together contributions from leading scholars around the world on the most relevant and pressing economic themes surrounding the UK-EU relationship. With contributions spanning from the UK’s accession to the bloc to the aftermath of its decision to leave…
The effects of European economic integration and the impact of brexit on the UK immigrants from the CEE countries
Considering the debates regarding lower increase in the economic growth after Brexit, the main objective of this paper is to measure the positive impact of economic integration of Central and Eastern European (CEE)…
The Emotional Geographies of Migration and Brexit: Tales of Unbelonging
This article focuses on the emotionality of belonging among European Union (EU) citizens in the context of the United Kingdom's (UK) 2016 referendum and its result in favour of the UK leaving the EU, commonly referred to as Brexit. Drawing from testimonies of EU27 citizens in the UK…
The EU Referendum and Experiences and Fear of Ethnic and Racial Harassment: Variation Across Individuals and Communities in England
This paper uses nationally representative, longitudinal data to examine experiences and fear of ethnic and racial harassment in public spaces among minorities in the UK, comparing levels of both before and after the 2016 EU Referendum.
The future of EU citizenship status during crisis—is there a role for fundamental rights protection?
This article assesses whether there is a future for the status of European Union (EU) citizenship and fundamental rights. It operates from the premise that rights associated with EU citizenship are inherently underlined by fundamental rights protection.
The hostile environment, Brexit, and `reactive-' or `protective transnationalism'
The `reactive transnationalism hypothesis' posits a relationship between discrimination and transnational practice. The concept has generally been studied using quantitative methods, but a qualitative approach augments our understanding of two context-specific dimensions:
The Impact of Brexit on Gender and Asylum Law in the UK
The UK Government has remained silent regarding the envisaged system of international protection for refugees in the UK after the UK leaves the European Union (EU). In this context…
The impact of Brexit on international students' return intentions
This paper studies the causal impact of Brexit on the post-graduation mobility decisions of EU students in the UK. We exploit the British government's formal withdrawal notification under Article 50 as a natural experiment.
The impact of Brexit on labour migration and labour markets in the United Kingdom and the EU
Nowadays, migration to the United Kingdom remains to be one of the most debatable issues as far as the Brexit is concerned. Many speculations have been made regarding the impact of Brexit and its effect on the social and economic status of the UK.
The Impact of Brexit on Young Poles and Lithuanians in the UK: Reinforced Temporariness of Migration Decisions
The main aim of this paper is to assess the extent to which the 2016 Brexit referendum impacted on the decisions of young Polish and Lithuanian migrants to stay in the UK or return to the country of origin.
The impact of possible migration scenarios after ‘brexit’ on the state pension system
The purpose of this paper is to explore the impacts of changes in migration flows—in particular, those resulting from possible migration policy changes after a UK exit (‘Brexit’) from the European Union (EU)—on the finances of the UK state pension system.
The impacts of international migration on the UK's ethnic populations
The United Kingdom faces demographic uncertainty, as negotiations for leaving the European Union (Brexit) proceed. Brexit has implications for international migration into and out of the UK, dependent on future immigration policy and on how attractive the UK will be as a labour market.
The Janus face of precarity - Securitisation of Roma mobility in the UK
Technological developments and the free movement of people within the EU have enabled Member States to implement new geopolitical control measures to increase migration control and social sorting of undesired migrant groups. As part of a securitisation process…
The New European Migration Laboratory: East Europeans in West European Cities
The IMAGINATION project and its varied outputs represent the fruition of a research agenda that ought to be substantially shifting the mainstream paradigm of research on international migration. The new European migrations heralded by European economic integration…
The organizational implications of Brexit
This point-of-view article examines the organizational implications of the UK's exit from the European Union (Brexit). We identify the effects of Brexit on firms' transaction costs in cross-border trade within Europe and highlight the importance of EU residency to secure licenses to operate.