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Joshua Garland

Joshua Garland

Postdoctoral fellow

Joshua Garland

Ukrainian refugees and welfare deservingness: a comparative study of UK government discussions around the 2022 Ukraine Conflict and 2015 Migrant Crisis

Author

  • Joshua Garland
  • Juhyun Lee

Summary, in English

Recent years witnessed mass migration towards Europe, from Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the 2015 Migrant Crisis linked to war in Syria. This article explores UK government discussion around these two significant crises, focussing on the challenges they present and the portrayal of refugees. It asks how far ministers' language differentiated between Ukrainians and Syrians regarding welfare deservingness. Thematically analysing over 100 official speeches, statements and press releases, the extent of racialisation and welfare chauvinism in ministers' discourse on refugees is revealed. Clear racialisation was found between the two refugee groups, but welfare chauvinism persisted for Ukrainians despite more favourable language, reflecting continued conditionality within UK government discussions of migration phenomena that may hold long-term implications for Ukrainian refugees in the UK.

Department/s

  • LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies)

Publishing year

2025-04-27

Language

English

Pages

800-813

Publication/Series

British Journal of Sociology

Volume

76

Issue

4

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell

Topic

  • Development Studies

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1468-4446