Military Migrants: Fighting for YOUR Country (Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship)

This is the first book to examine "migrant-soldiers' in the British army and places the phenomenon of Britain's multicultural army in relation to British culture, history and nationalism. It also explores the impact of war on UK society during the 21st Century. The modern British soldier is routinely portrayed as a hero, while military service is represented as a form of sacrifice that requires recognition from society as a whole. The migrant, in the other hand, remains a focus of resentment, more likely to be seen as a scrounger who drains public resources without giving anything in return. In 1998 the British Army began to recruit from Commonwealth countries, a strategy that simultaneously addressed a labour shortage and the new legal obligations to diversify its workforce. This led to the creation of a new category of migrant-soldiers who found themselves lauded as 'heroes' but stigmatised as 'immigrants' and 'foreigners'. This book explores the phenomenon of Britain's multi-national army, a topic that has passed virtually unnoticed in public debates about immigration, citizenship, multiculturalism, national identity and war. In doing so, it poses searching questions about the relationship between the armed services and the society they are charged to defend.--[Source inconnue] "The modern British soldier is routinely portrayed as a hero, while military service is represented as a form of sacrifice that requires recognition from society as a whole. The migrant, in the other hand, remains a focus of resentment, more likely to be seen as a scrounger who drains public resources without giving anything in return. In 1998 the British Army began to recruit from Commonwealth countries, a strategy that simultaneously addressed a labour shortage and the new legal obligations to diversify its workforce. This led to the creation of a new category of migrant-soldiers who found themselves lauded as "heroes" but stigmatised as "himmigrants" and "foreigners." This book explores the phenomenon of Britain's multi-national army, a topic that has passed virtually unnoticed in public debates about immigration, citizenship, multiculturalism, national identity and war. In doing so, it poses searching questions about the relationship between the armed services and the society they are charged to defend."--Publisher's website Front Matter....Pages i-xxiii Introduction: For Queen and Commonwealth....Pages 1-26 Front Matter....Pages 27-28 The Race to Recruit....Pages 29-58 The Promised Land....Pages 59-90 Front Matter....Pages 91-91 Culture Shock....Pages 93-118 Keeping the Faith....Pages 119-145 Front Matter....Pages 147-147 Crossing the Line....Pages 149-171 The Force of the Law....Pages 172-199 Front Matter....Pages 201-201 Like Coming to Mars....Pages 203-228 Caught in the Crossfire....Pages 229-255 Conclusion: Militarised Multiculture....Pages 256-283 Back Matter....Pages 284-325