The politics of immigration : liberal democracy and the transnational movement of people / James Hampshire.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Immigration is one of the most contested issues on the political agenda of liberal democracies. While these states can be open and inclusive to newcomers, they are also often resstrictive and exclusionary. The Politics of Immigration examines the sources of these apparently contradictory stances, locating answers in the nature of the liberal state itself.
The book shows how four defining facets of the liberal state - representative democracy, constitutionalism, campitalism and nationhood - generate conflicting iperatives for immigration policymaking, which in turn give rise to paradoxical, even contradictory, policies. The first few chapters outline this framework, setting out the actors, institutions and ideas associated wich each facet. Subsequent chapters consider its implications for the immigration as well as citizenship and integration. Throughout, the argument is illustrated with data and examples from the major immigrant-receiving countries of Europe, North America and Oceania.
This book will be essential reading for students and researchers in migration studies, politics and international relations, and all those interested in underastanding why immigration is one of the most controversial and intractable policy issues in the Western world."--