Contextualizing the regulation of human mobility in a new security framework, this book offers an original perspective on the dominant mode of politics and evolving norms shaping the immigration policies of contemporary liberal states. In doing so, the authors challenge existing paradigms that privilege economic and cultural factors over new security ones in explaining the critical institutional and normative changes in migration management, from the early post-WWII through the post-Cold War era. Drawing on evidence from multiple sources, including media and elite discourse, policy tracking, party manifesto data and public opinion across Europe and the US, the book exposes the restrictive nature of immigration politics and policies when immigration is framed as a security threat, and considers its implications for civil liberties. Informed by a rich breadth of scholarly sub-disciplines, the findings contribute both empirically and theoretically to the literatures on international migration, security and public opinion.

‘Lahav and Messina’s multi-method research design effectively synthesizes significant empirical data derived from a variety of longitudinal and cross-national public opinion surveys, as well as media content analyses and demographic data. The product of this synthesis is a novel insight into the linkage between migration and security in the liberal state.’

Ariane Chebel d'Appollonia - Professor, School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University, Newark

‘Based on extensive empirical research on public attitudes, media framing and political party positioning on security threats, Immigration, Security and the Liberal State effectively challenges comparative analysis focused on constraints that rights and markets impose on policymakers’ efforts to restrict immigration, and offers a new conceptual framework that systematically integrates the security dimension for understanding the politics of immigration in a post-9/11 world - a work that will set the terms for debate well into the future.’

Rey Koslowski - Professor of Political Science, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY)

‘This book brings together many years of research by both authors in analysing immigration policy in wealthy western democracies. Lahav and Messina argue that immigration policy in liberal democracies is a function of the ‘frames’ that are employed by political elites and the media. The economic and rights-based frames that have been prominent in the post-World War II period have been displaced by a security frame, which allows states to adopt policies that undermine the civil liberties of both citizens and migrants. This represents a substantial contribution to our understanding of the regulatory framework of immigration policy in liberal democracies in the contemporary era, which also has implications for the quality of governance in our societies. It will make a big splash, probably stir a lot of controversy and reframe the debate on a central issue in public affairs today.’

Jeannette Money - Professor, Department of Political Science, University of California, Davis