Immigration, Identity and Security in the Context of Brexit: Examining Linkages Through the Lens of the Copenhagen School

Abstract

This article aims to examine the complex interrelationship between identity and immigration in the United Kingdom (UK) in the context of Brexit. It analyzes the background of immigration in the UK as well as multilayered notions of identity and integration. Using the framework of securitization advanced by the Copenhagen School of thought, this study questions if and how immigration has been perceived as a threat to British identity and how this perception has influenced the decision to leave the European Union. It hypothesizes that anti-immigrant sentiment, culminating in Brexit, may be the product of securitization in the societal sphere, namely of identity. This framework aims to provide an alternative understanding of Brexit by analyzing how perceptions of threat in the societal sector can influence major political decisions.