Sociology SAGE Prize for Innovation and/or Excellence 2019

For the article: Yuval-Davis, N., Wemyss, G. and Cassidy, K. 'Everyday Bordering, Belonging and the Reorientation of British Immigration Legislation' published in Sociology 52(2): 228-244.

Judges' comments:
This article is an important article about a serious, contemporary social problem and represents timely and important research. Based on a major empirical project, the article addresses real social injustices and is excellent in terms of style and execution. While other papers stand out for their novelty this one takes on an area receiving significant attention but manages to excel in doing so both in terms of conceptual sophistication and empirical detail, tact and nuance.
The article encompasses a strong section laying out the theoretical and methodological framework for the examination of bordering, belonging and everyday life. This is followed by a nuanced discussion of recent UK immigration legislation and technologies of everyday bordering which provides the context for analysis of the shift from external, territorial border control to the internal border and what this means for citizens who are thus turned into border-guards or suspected illegitimate border crossers. The article is based on rich data collected in London including 66 in-depth interview with students, managers, teachers, landlords, tenants, local government employees, small business employers and employees and immigration officers as well as seven meetings relating to new immigration laws. Interviewees included British citizens, non-UK European Economic Area (EEA) and non-EEA citizens. The analysis employed an intersectional perspective and revealed how everyday employment bordering is experienced by professional enforcers, the ethnic enclave economy, EU residents and metropolitan professionals.