Britain's immigration and asylum regime: the shifting contours of rights

This paper addresses the question of how to advance the sociology of migrants' rights, in the context of universalist claims with regard to the emergence of 'post-national' rights. It is argued that attention should be paid to a more traditionally sociological approach which emphasises boundary drawing and the varied processes of inclusion and exclusion in the construction and implementation of rights--such as to constitute a system of 'civic stratification'. This paper applies such an approach to an analysis of recent developments in Britain's immigration and asylum regime, including the recent entry into force of the Human Rights Act.