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Elites and the ‘organised public’: who drives British immigration politics and in which direction?
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 14:51 authored by Paul StathamPaul Statham, Andrew GeddesThis article examines the role of the ‘organised public’, collective action by interest groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), in British immigration politics. The impact of the ‘organised public’ on policy outcomes has been a subject for theoretical speculation, especially by Gary Freeman. Here the authors test some of Freeman’s assumptions regarding what political mechanisms could account for what he sees as a persistent ‘gap’ between expansionist policies and restrictive public opinion through recourse to original empirical evidence. Their findings largely go against Freeman’s predictions. Immigration is an elite-led highly institutionalised field with a relatively weak level of civil society engagement. Elites dominate the field and hold a decisively restrictionist stance. This points toward an explanation where the direction of immigration policies is not an outcome of an organised pro-migrant lobby winning over a resource-weak diffuse anti-migrant lobby, as Freeman suggests, but determined in a relatively autonomous way by political elites.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
West European PoliticsISSN
0140-2382Publisher
Taylor & FrancisExternal DOI
Issue
2Volume
29Page range
248-269Department affiliated with
- Geography Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2013-05-02First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2013-05-02Usage metrics
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