Cover not available
Article published In:
Media, Migration and Human Rights: Discourse and Resistance in the Context of the Erosion of Liberal Norms
Edited by Ekaterina Balabanova and Ruxandra Trandafoiu
[Journal of Language and Politics 19:3] 2020
► pp. 479–497

EU nationals in the UK after BREXIT

Political engagement through discursive awareness, reflexivity and (in)action

| Edge Hill University
ORCID logo | Edge Hill University
The United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union has triggered a variety of forms of political engagement among EU nationals living in the UK. Our research, carried out in the North West of England, an area that has received little attention so far, demonstrates that the result of the 2016 Referendum sparked a new awareness of public discourse, has led to the emergence of new political and discursive attitudes and strategies, as well as persuasive reflexivity and incipient activism on the part of EU nationals. This article thus contributes to the existing literature on political engagement by analysing EU nationals’ cognitive, discursive and pro/re-active engagements with Brexit.
Keywords: Brexit, political engagement, EU nationals, civic participation, UK, referendum
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Migrants’ (political) engagement
  • 3.Emotion, awareness, critical reflexivity, activism
  • 4.Alternative forms of reaction: Mainstreaming and (Dis)engaging
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 3 April 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.19028.vat
References (44)
References
Barrett, Martyn, and Bruna Zani. 2015. “Political and Civic Engagement. Theoretical understandings, evidence and policies.” In Political and Civic Engagement. Multidisciplinary Perspectives, ed. by Martyn Barrett, and Bruna Zani, 3–25. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Bell, Justyna, and Markieta Domecka. 2018. “The transformative potential of migration: Polish migrants’ everyday life experiences in Belfast, Northern Ireland.” Gender, Place & Culture 25(6): 866–881. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bermudez, Anastasia. 2010. “The transnational political practices of Colombians in Spain and the United Kingdom: Politics ‘here’ and ‘there’.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 33 (1): 75–91. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Blase, Joseph J. 1991. The politics of life in schools: Power, conflict, and cooperation. London: Newbury Park.Google Scholar
Bona-Sou, Emilia. 2016. “How Sefton and West Lancashire Voted in the EU Referendum.” Southport Visiter, 24 June.Google Scholar
Botterill, Kate. 2018. “Rethinking “community” relationally: Polish communities in Scotland before and after Brexit.” Royal Geographical Society 43 (4): 540–554.Google Scholar
Botterill, Kate, McCollum, David and Naomi Tyrrell. 2019. “Negotiating Brexit: Migrant spatialities and identities in a changing Europe.” Population, Space and Place 25 (1): e2216. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Colantone, Italo and Piero Stanig. 2018. “Global Competition and Brexit.” American Political Science Review 112 (2): 201–218. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Curtice, John. 2018. “The Emotional Legacy of Brexit: How Britain Has Become A Country of ‘Remainers’ and ‘Leavers’.” National Centre for Social Research Report.Google Scholar
Dennison, James, and Andrew Geddes. 2018. “Brexit and the perils of ‘Europeanised’ migration.” Journal of European Public Policy 25 (8): 1137–1153. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Duda-Mikulin, Eva. 2019. EU Migrant Workers, Brexit and Precarity. Polish Women’s Perspectives from Inside the UK. Bristol: Policy Press, imprint of Bristol University Press.Google Scholar
Ekman, Joakim, and Erik Amnå. 2012. “Political Participation and Civic Engagement: Towards a New Typology.” Human Affairs 221: 283–300. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Escobar, Cristina. 2006. “Dual Citizenship and Political Participation: Migrants in the Interplay of United States and Colombian Politics.” In Latinos and Citizenship: The Dilemma of Belonging, ed. by Suzanne Oboler, 113–141. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Evans, Geoffrey, and Anand Menon. 2017. Brexit and British Politics. Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Fennema, Meindert, and Jean Tillie. 1999. “Political participation and political trust in Amsterdam: Civic communities and ethnic networks.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 25 (4): 703–726. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fleming, Michael (Ed.). 2018. Brexit and Polonia: Challenges facing the Polish Community during the process of Britain leaving the European Union. London: Puno Press, The Polish University Abroad.Google Scholar
Foos, Florian, and Daniel Bischof. 2019. “Tabloid media influence on Euroscepticism: Quasi-experimental evidence from England.” Working paper prepared for APSA 2019. Available at [URL] (accessed 15 September 2019)
Ford, Robert, and Matthew Goodwin. 2017. “Britain After Brexit: A Nation Divided.” Journal of Democracy 28 (1): 17–30. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Garapich, Michał P. 2016. London’s Polish Borders. Transnationalizing Class and Ethnicity Among Polish Migrants in London. Stuttgart: Ibidem Verlag.Google Scholar
Goodwin, Matthew, and Caitlin Milazzo. 2017. “Taking back control? Investigating the role of immigration in the 2016 vote for Brexit.” The British Journal of Politics and International Relations 19(3): 450–464. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Guarnizo, Louis E., Alejandro Portes, and William Haller. 2003. “Assimilation and Transnationalism: Determinants of Transnational Political Action among Contemporary Migrants.” American Journal of Sociology 108 (6): 1211–1248. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Habermas, Jurgen. 1992. “Citizenship and National identity: Some Reflections on the Future of Europe.” Praxis International 12 (1): 1–19.Google Scholar
. 1994. “Struggles for Recognition in the Democratic Constitutional State.” In Multiculturalism: Examining the Politics of Recognition, edited by Amy Gutmann, 107–148. Princeton: Princeton University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Horta, Ana P. B., and Jorge Malheiros. 2006. “Social Capital and Migrants’ Political Integration: The Case Study of Capeverdean Associations in the Greater Lisbon Area.” Finisterra XLI (81): 143–170.Google Scholar
Inglehart, Ronald F., and Pippa Norris. 2016. “Brexit, and the Rise of Populism: Economic Have-Nots and Cultural Backlash.” HKS Working Paper No. RWP16–026. July 29, 2016. Available at DOI logo (accessed 27 September 2018)Google Scholar
Jackson, Daniel, Thorsen, Einar and Dominic Wring. 2016. EU Referendum Analysis 2016: Media, Voters and the Campaign. Poole: The Centre for the Study of Journalism, Culture and Community, Bournemouth University.Google Scholar
Jacobs, Dirk, and Jean Tillie. 2011. “Ethnic Social Networks, Social Capital, and Political Participation of Immigrants.” In Identity and Participation in Culturally Diverse Societies. A Multidisciplinary Perspective, ed. by Assaad E. Azzi, Xenia Chryssochoou, Bert Klandermans, and Bernd Simon, 296–314. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.Google Scholar
Kleist, Nauja. 2008. “Mobilising ‘The Diaspora’: Somali Transnational Political Engagement.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 34 (2): 307–323. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Koinova, Maria. 2018. “Diaspora mobilisation for conflict and post-conflict reconstruction: Contextual and comparative dimensions.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 44 (8): 1251–1269. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lulle, Aija, Moroşanu, Laura and Russell King. 2018. “And then came Brexit: Experiences and future plans of young EU migrants in the London region.” Population, Space and Place 24 (1): e2122. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McGhee, Derek, Moreh, Chris, and Athina Vlachantoni. 2017. “An ‘undeliberate determinacy’? The chancing migration strategies of Polish migrants in the UK in times of Brexit.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 43 (13): 2109–2130. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Moore, Martin, and Gordon Ramsey. 2017. “UK media coverage of the 2016 EU referendum campaign.” Centre for the Study of Media, Communication and Power Report. The Policy Institute King’s College London.Google Scholar
Montgomery, Victoria. 2015. “Participation and Integration. The contextual factors influencing minority and migrant participation.” In Political and Civic Engagement. Multidisciplinary Perspectives, ed. by Martyn Barrett, and Bruna Zani, 71–95. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Müller, Jan-Werner. 2007. Constitutional Patriotism. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Myrberg, Gunnar, and Jon Rogstad. 2011. “Patterns of Participation: Engagement among Ethnic Minorities and the Native Population in Oslo and Stockholm.” In Political and Civic Engagement. Multidisciplinary Perspectives, ed. by Martyn Barrett, and Bruna Zani, 172–197. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Ostergard-Nielsen, Eva. 2003. “The Politics of Migrants’ Transnational Political Practices.” International Migration Review 37 (3): 760–786. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2009. “Mobilising the Moroccans: Policies and Perceptions of Transnational Co-Development Engagement Among Moroccan Migrants in Catalonia.” Journal of Ethnic Migration Studies 35 (10): 1623–1641. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pilati, Katia. 2011. “Network Resources and the Political Engagement of Migrant Organisations in Milan.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 38 (4): 671–688. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ragazzi, Francesco. 2014. “A comparative analysis of diaspora policies.” Political Geography 411: 74–89. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Reed-Danahay, Deborah, and Caroline B. Brettell (eds). 2008. Citizenship, Political Engagement, and Belonging: Immigrants in Europe and the United States. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.Google Scholar
Rzepnikowska, Alina. 2019. “Racism and xenophobia experienced by Polish migrants in the UK before and after Brexit vote.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 45(1): 61–77. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Seaton, Jean. 2016. “Brexit and the Media.” The Political Quarterly 87 (3): 333–337. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tintori, Guido. 2011. “The Transnational Political Practices of “Latin American Italians”.” International Migration, Special Issue: “The Transnational Political Participation of Latino Migrants in Europe,” 49 (3): 168–188. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Zani, Bruna, and Martyn Barrett. 2012. “Engaged Citizens? Political Participation and Social Engagement Among Youth Women, Minorities, and Migrants.” Human Affairs 221: 273–282. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by (5)

Cited by five other publications

Moise, Raluca
2023. Diaspora diplomacy and modes of engagement: the case of Romanian Diaspora in the UK. Journal of Communication Management 27:2 ► pp. 173 ff. DOI logo
Siklodi, Nora
2023. (Br)exit citizenship: belonging, rights and participation. Journal of Contemporary European Studies ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo
Dolea, Alina
2022. Transnational diaspora diplomacy, emotions and COVID-19: the Romanian diaspora in the UK. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy 18:1 ► pp. 12 ff. DOI logo
Vathi, Zana & Ruxandra Trandafoiu
2022. A post‐national EU diaspora? Political mobilization of EU citizens in the UK post‐Brexit. Global Networks 22:4 ► pp. 752 ff. DOI logo
Vathi, Zana & Ruxandra Trandafoiu
2023. The politics of EU diaspora in the UK post-Brexit: civic organisations’ multi-scalar lobbying and mobilisation strategies. European Political Science 22:1 ► pp. 28 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 5 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.