The Empire Strikes Back: Why Civilisational Aspects Matter in Migration Policy

Today European countries face demographic crises as a consequence of their low fertility rates. Historically, migration has been used as a tool to rectify the implications of population decline, however in the cases of the United Kingdom, France, and Spain, differences emerge as a consequence of post-colonial migration patterns. These former global empires have experienced and facilitated flows of inward migration from their former colonies. Yet notably, in the cases of Britain and France, integration of migrant populations has proven difficult, while in the Spanish case study, migrant assimilation has proven significantly more successful.

Since the Windrush generation, Britain taken migrants from its former colonies and cultivated an ethos of multiculturalism. Yet despite this apparent societal value, the United Kingdom has created a hostile environment for migrants through successive policies designed to restrict immigration in various ways. In France, migrants are expected to conform to the secular univeralism of the French Republic, but public upheaval against concerns of a growing Muslim population in the country has fomented social division. By contrast, Spain has integrated migrants from its former imperial territories far
 easier due to shared religious and cultural values.

As a consequence of their histories as global empires, Britain, France, and Spain have largely received inward migration from their former colonies. Through this pattern, the nature of their respective imperial pasts has influenced their ability to integrate migrants from these territories, determinate on factors such as cultural proximity and their administrative policies throughout former dominions