Governing aliens in times of upheaval: Immigration control and modern state practice in early Twentieth-Century Britain, compared with Prussia

Abstract

Summary In the history of immigration control, the period from the 1880s to the 1920s saw an international dynamic of growing restrictions. World War I in particular has been regarded as watershed marking the end of laissez-faire migration policy. But whether 1914 can be seen as a crucial turning point depends on the country under consideration, as well as on the chosen analytical approach. Analysing Britains politics of immigration control before and after the war and comparing it with its Prussian equivalent, this article discusses the shifts and continuities in the concrete administration of migration. Focusing on the changing practice of expelling foreigners, it suggests a chronology of control that does not entirely correspond with the overall political changes. By 1918, the British bureaucracy possessed elaborate means to monitor aliens, and the state increasingly impacted on the migrants lives. In contrast, Prussia was maintaining a tightly regulated regime already, which its authorities had established well before 1914. © 2009 Copyright Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis 2009.