ISBN
978-1529200423Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressISBN
978-1529200454Imprint
Bristol University PressISBN
978-1529200461Imprint
Bristol University Press
The Politics of Compassion
Whether addressing questions of loss, (be)longing, fears of an immigration ‘invasion’ or perceived injustices in immigration policies, immigration debates are infused with strong emotions.
Emotion is often presented as a factor that complicates and hinders rational discussion. This book explores how emotion is, in fact, central to understanding how and why we have the immigration policies we do, and what kinds of policies may be beneficial for various groups of people in society.
The author looks beyond the ‘negative’ emotions of fear and hostility to examine on the politics of compassion and empathy. Using case studies from Australia, Europe and the US, the book offers a new and original analysis of immigration policy and immigration debates.
"Surely a must-read for scholars interested in the recent ‘refugee crisis’, and those who more broadly want to comprehend how compassion is used both to uphold and counter asylum and immigration policies… the first extensive study of how ‘benevolence’ is articulated in immigration and asylum debates in the ‘minority world’, making the book very topical and useful to understand ongoing events." Migration Studies, June 2019
"The Politics of Compassion is a breathtakingly ambitious book." Emotions and Society
“This lucid, useful book throws new light on how we think about migration. It deftly links theory and evidence to explain the ‘compassionate refusal’ used to justify exclusionary migration policies.” Hannah Jones, University of Warwick
Ala Sirriyeh is a Lecturer in Sociology in the Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology at the University of Liverpool. She works in migration and refugee studies, with a focus on the experiences of children and young people. She wrote Inhabiting Borders, Routes Home (Routledge, 2013) based on her PhD research. From 2017-2018 she held a Leverhulme Research Fellowship for a research project titled Undocumented Young Immigrants, Political Activism and Citizenship in the USA.
A crisis of compassion
The emotional politics of immigration and asylum
Emotion, colonialism and immigration policy
The intolerable death of Alan Kurdi
Victims, villains and saviours
Withholding compassion
Outrage, responsibility and accountability
Self-care and solidarity: the undocumented immigrant youth movement
Conclusion
