Impacts of anti-migrant policy and activism: The dynamics of hostility around small boat crossings to Dover
Matthijs Gardenier & Hilary Pilkington
What the paper says
Working at the interstices of critical social policy, sociology and social movement studies, this article contributes to understanding the social impact of anti-migrant mobilisation. Research on anti-migrant activism has focused to date on the sociography, action repertoire, discursive strategies and propensity for political violence of anti-migrant actors. This article considers its impact on those working in public and third sector roles supporting people arriving and/or managing community tensions. It explores the case of Dover and surrounding area as a focal point of anti-migrant activism due to the arrival of refugees via ‘small boat crossings’. Employing a relational sociological approach, the article highlights the interactional dynamic between political discourse and policy designed to create a hostile immigration environment, the reaction-seeking tactics of anti-migrant activists and the responses of local authority, police and third sector actors delivering safeguarding and welfare services to those seeking asylum.
Evidence weight
Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40
| F · citation impact | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
| M · momentum | 0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07 |
| V · venue signal | 0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03 |
| R · text relevance † | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.