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Bordering Britain: Law, Race and Empire
(B)ordering Britain argues that Britain is the spoils of empire, its immigration law is colonial violence and irregular immigration is anti-colonial resistance. In announcing itself as postcolonial through immigration and nationality laws passed in the 60s, 70s and 80s, Britain cut itself off symbolically and physically from its colonies and the Commonwealth, taking with it what it had plundered. This imperial vanishing act cast Britain's colonial history into the shadows. The British Empire, about which Britons know little, can be remembered fondly as a moment of past glory, as a gift once given to the world. Meanwhile immigration laws are justified on the basis that they keep the undeserving hordes out. In fact, immigration laws are acts of colonial seizure and violence. They obstruct the vast majority of racialised people from accessing colonial wealth amassed in the course of colonial conquest. Regardless of what the law, media and political discourse dictate, people with personal, ancestral or geographical links to colonialism, or those existing under the weight of its legacy of race and racism, have every right to come to Britain and take back what is theirs.
296 pages, Hardcover
Published April 21, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 6, 2023
Really interesting and in depth review of British immigration law. Could have said more about the connection between race and nationality in the law that wasn’t just “when the law says British national it means white cause majority of the pop are white” which is what it felt at time.
December 11, 2020
(b)ordering britain examines how british borders are used as an extension of colonialism and empire. el-enany presents her legal analysis in a way that makes it readable, compelling and so relevant. ultimately, she argues how british citizenship is fragile for people who are racialised.
the key takeaway from this book is: britain's wealth is built off of colonial spoils. now, "post"-colonialism, descendants of people from previously colonised countries are denied access to those same resources. although this point is repeated throughout the book, i think its because it is repeated throughout british history.
this book challenges britain's narrative of it's own benevolence, and reframes it as ever-changing form of power. she expertly links colonial history with contemporary immigration law so we see the direct parallels results such as, but not limited to, family separation and labour exploitation.
if you ever ask how yourself "how did we get here?" in response to go home vans, state responses to asylum seekers and ofc...brexit, then read this
the key takeaway from this book is: britain's wealth is built off of colonial spoils. now, "post"-colonialism, descendants of people from previously colonised countries are denied access to those same resources. although this point is repeated throughout the book, i think its because it is repeated throughout british history.
this book challenges britain's narrative of it's own benevolence, and reframes it as ever-changing form of power. she expertly links colonial history with contemporary immigration law so we see the direct parallels results such as, but not limited to, family separation and labour exploitation.
if you ever ask how yourself "how did we get here?" in response to go home vans, state responses to asylum seekers and ofc...brexit, then read this
September 4, 2020
This book is phenomenonal, I urge everyone to read it.
January 25, 2021
I love anything race, empire & immigration law related & this was a wonderful read!
January 31, 2021
(This is a section on this book from a larger review covering 'Welcome to Britain' by Colin Yeo and 'Deporting Black Britons' by Luke de Noronha as well as this. The full review will shortly be published on the www.chartist.org.uk website)
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Postcolonial theorists like Nadine El-Enany, would largely reject the possibility that a system like UK immigration control could be fixed in the sense intended by Yeo. Making robust use of the concept of ‘bordering’ as a means to structure the hierarchies of immigration and citizenship status, she sees all immigration policy as continuation of the methods used to sustain the subject status of people as was developed and used during the period of colonialism. Her argument is an important riposte to liberal theorists of the stature of John Rawls and Michael Walzer, who assert a moral right on the part of the governments of the over-developed nations to deny entry to immigrants on the grounds that they have not contributed to the social system that sustains the prosperity of their populations. On the contrary, she insists that the wealth that underpins the surfeits that exist in these countries has been obtained from the exploitation of the labour of colonial subjects and the physical removal of resources to support consumption by the populations of the Global North.
For El-Enany, the “Ideas and practices of racial ordering” which have these origins in the colonial era and are now “embedded in contemporary articulations of immigration, asylum and nationality law.” That may be so, but she is not inclined to see any change in the way capitalism itself functions as a consequence of moving on from this colonial era. The image she offers is one of a system which accumulates wealth in classical mercantilist fashion by piling up valuable stuff lands exploited by imperialism and physically removing it to places where it can be used up by people imbued with the presumption of white supremacist privilege. Immigration control functions to prevent denizens of the creator countries following the wealth taken from them and denying them the chance to share in its enjoyment.
This does not seem to be an adequate description of modern capitalism. Better understood as 'value in motion' - David Harvey's term - its dominate feature is the extreme mobility of the factors of production, with labour made subject to exploitation by as much by the compulsion to move as to stay trapped in one place. The genius of the system lies in its ability to confine movement to channels which serve the interests of capital accumulation above all else. To really understand immigration control today means coming to grips with the ways in which it acjieves these ends.
***********
Postcolonial theorists like Nadine El-Enany, would largely reject the possibility that a system like UK immigration control could be fixed in the sense intended by Yeo. Making robust use of the concept of ‘bordering’ as a means to structure the hierarchies of immigration and citizenship status, she sees all immigration policy as continuation of the methods used to sustain the subject status of people as was developed and used during the period of colonialism. Her argument is an important riposte to liberal theorists of the stature of John Rawls and Michael Walzer, who assert a moral right on the part of the governments of the over-developed nations to deny entry to immigrants on the grounds that they have not contributed to the social system that sustains the prosperity of their populations. On the contrary, she insists that the wealth that underpins the surfeits that exist in these countries has been obtained from the exploitation of the labour of colonial subjects and the physical removal of resources to support consumption by the populations of the Global North.
For El-Enany, the “Ideas and practices of racial ordering” which have these origins in the colonial era and are now “embedded in contemporary articulations of immigration, asylum and nationality law.” That may be so, but she is not inclined to see any change in the way capitalism itself functions as a consequence of moving on from this colonial era. The image she offers is one of a system which accumulates wealth in classical mercantilist fashion by piling up valuable stuff lands exploited by imperialism and physically removing it to places where it can be used up by people imbued with the presumption of white supremacist privilege. Immigration control functions to prevent denizens of the creator countries following the wealth taken from them and denying them the chance to share in its enjoyment.
This does not seem to be an adequate description of modern capitalism. Better understood as 'value in motion' - David Harvey's term - its dominate feature is the extreme mobility of the factors of production, with labour made subject to exploitation by as much by the compulsion to move as to stay trapped in one place. The genius of the system lies in its ability to confine movement to channels which serve the interests of capital accumulation above all else. To really understand immigration control today means coming to grips with the ways in which it acjieves these ends.
April 20, 2022
“Law, in its claim to embody norms of universalism, equality, neutrality and rationality, serves to legitimise the global system of racial capitalism.” Nothing speaks louder about the international legal system than this quote from El-Enany.
This book provides an excellent introduction to those seeking reparative justice from the legal system, and why it always seem like the law is not working for you despite the numerous claims from lawyers, judges, academics and politicians that legal processes are fair and “there for a reason”.
Understanding law in its historical context is important because law is built upon history. Historical cases are deemed to be “precedent” and many legislations in force today are decades old. The colonial context of law is even more significant. El-Enany explains how law is a mechanism for racial violence and why there is a need for significant reform. It introduces the European Union as a continuation of colonialism - a fact lost in academia and rarely mentioned in the media on either end of the spectrum, as politicians across the continent herald the bloc as the pinnacle of freedom and human rights.
There is also a particular need to reform legal academia, to explain to students the meaning behind the language of the law, instead of reinforcing politicians will for the sake of it. By doing this we reinforce colonial notions through the educational system, and inadvertently pass down racial violence to future generations.
Until there are significant political, legislative and judicial reforms, law needs to be understood as reinforcing racial violence and not as a primary means for gaining justice, as the evidence is clear for all to see.
This book provides an excellent introduction to those seeking reparative justice from the legal system, and why it always seem like the law is not working for you despite the numerous claims from lawyers, judges, academics and politicians that legal processes are fair and “there for a reason”.
Understanding law in its historical context is important because law is built upon history. Historical cases are deemed to be “precedent” and many legislations in force today are decades old. The colonial context of law is even more significant. El-Enany explains how law is a mechanism for racial violence and why there is a need for significant reform. It introduces the European Union as a continuation of colonialism - a fact lost in academia and rarely mentioned in the media on either end of the spectrum, as politicians across the continent herald the bloc as the pinnacle of freedom and human rights.
There is also a particular need to reform legal academia, to explain to students the meaning behind the language of the law, instead of reinforcing politicians will for the sake of it. By doing this we reinforce colonial notions through the educational system, and inadvertently pass down racial violence to future generations.
Until there are significant political, legislative and judicial reforms, law needs to be understood as reinforcing racial violence and not as a primary means for gaining justice, as the evidence is clear for all to see.
December 3, 2025
4.5 ⭐️
‘The abstraction of day-to-day life in Britain from its colonial history means that immigration law and policy, whether in the form of the hostile environment, visa requirements or other external border controls, are not seen as ongoing expressions of empire. Yet this is what they are; part of an attempt to control access to the spoils of empire which are located in Britain.’
‘The law's categorisation of people into groups, those with and without rights of entry and stay, makes the latter disproportionately at risk of violence and premature death.’
‘If Britain is acknowledged as being everywhere, its colonial legacies still reaching like tentacles across the world, then Britain is where we are from. In this way, the dictum 'go home' becomes paradoxically, subversively, an invitation to stay.’
‘The abstraction of day-to-day life in Britain from its colonial history means that immigration law and policy, whether in the form of the hostile environment, visa requirements or other external border controls, are not seen as ongoing expressions of empire. Yet this is what they are; part of an attempt to control access to the spoils of empire which are located in Britain.’
‘The law's categorisation of people into groups, those with and without rights of entry and stay, makes the latter disproportionately at risk of violence and premature death.’
‘If Britain is acknowledged as being everywhere, its colonial legacies still reaching like tentacles across the world, then Britain is where we are from. In this way, the dictum 'go home' becomes paradoxically, subversively, an invitation to stay.’
September 13, 2020
Bordering Britain takes you on a journey of how British borders have come to be an extension of colonialism, empire and white supremacy.
The key point made throughout this book is that Britain's wealth was built from taking wealth from the countries under its rule as an Empire and then denying those same people rights to what is rightfully entitled to them including, but not limited to, access to education, healthcare and citizenship.
This country and its "leaders" continuously demonise racialised people, both UK citizens and those who have immigrated or sought refuge or asylum. I've learnt so much from reading this book and I recommend you read it too.
The key point made throughout this book is that Britain's wealth was built from taking wealth from the countries under its rule as an Empire and then denying those same people rights to what is rightfully entitled to them including, but not limited to, access to education, healthcare and citizenship.
This country and its "leaders" continuously demonise racialised people, both UK citizens and those who have immigrated or sought refuge or asylum. I've learnt so much from reading this book and I recommend you read it too.
June 29, 2024
It creates a discourse to explain how racialized subjects of the Empire are bordered away from the plundered and extracted wealth from Britain's colonial endeavors. However, while eluding towards a certain superiority even within Europe, it fails to elaborate more on the racism against Eastern European people. A lot of repetition of words and concepts too, almost as if a dissertation was turned into a book and the words had to be filled. Still an informative good read that can be grasped by almost anyone.
October 14, 2020
Excellent book that examines and dissects post-imperial British immigration law
In particular how Britain used the law to include the "right" people, be they former colonial white subjects of Australia and Canada, and exclude the "wrong" people, such as brown and black racialised subjects, all ultimately in service of white British supremacy
The author also superbly links this history to Brexit and the pro-imperialist, anti-immigration rhetoric that popularly supported it
In particular how Britain used the law to include the "right" people, be they former colonial white subjects of Australia and Canada, and exclude the "wrong" people, such as brown and black racialised subjects, all ultimately in service of white British supremacy
The author also superbly links this history to Brexit and the pro-imperialist, anti-immigration rhetoric that popularly supported it
April 17, 2022
An informative read; it bolstered my understanding of an immigration law module that I am currently undertaking whilst radicalising and re-conceptualising the way I view British immigration laws as a mere extension of the British Empire.
Furthermore, I appreciate that Bordering Britain continually argues that the law is 'racial violence' and 'central to ongoing processes of colonial dispossession.'
Furthermore, I appreciate that Bordering Britain continually argues that the law is 'racial violence' and 'central to ongoing processes of colonial dispossession.'
November 8, 2020
Hey! This is really really good. Through the lens of UK immigration law el-enany shows the vivid present of empire. why should the UK be white when for most of its history as a nation state the majority of its citizens were not? How can the uk section off its colonial wealth from those it got rich from?
I feel a bit galaxy brain now and also very angry. Super recommend!
I feel a bit galaxy brain now and also very angry. Super recommend!
July 20, 2020
Insightful read, surprised that I was able to find legal analysis interesting. Excellent exploration of how British citizenship is fragile for non-white people, with contemporary examples that are still important now, such as the case of Shamima Begum. Would definitely recommend.
March 5, 2024
A read that helps to understand the mindset of the British public and its governments. The inflated view of how they see themselves in the world and the abuse of others and their constant hate of "others".
The decline is of their own doing. Rather depressing that no lessons are ever learned.
The decline is of their own doing. Rather depressing that no lessons are ever learned.
July 30, 2022
A really comprehensive overview of how British immigration law has been used over time to marginalise people of colour. A bit too much legalese for me, but that comes with the subject!
December 5, 2025
lit read this entire book for one 1.5k essay FREE MEEEEE good book tho x
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews