The Violence of Britishness

Racism, Borders and the Conditions of Citizenship

In post-Brexit Britain wracked by multiple crises, the entitlements of citizenship grow increasingly precarious. 'Britishness' is a way of understanding the nation shaped by white nationalism that acts as a powerful tool of racial bordering, separating the deserving from the undeserving. In The Violence of Britishness, Nadya Ali examines the impact of counter-terrorism and immigration policy on Muslims and other racially minoritised groups.

Dissecting the Prevent strategy, she shows how Muslims have been compelled to reform their conduct and their faith in order to prove their 'Britishness', or risk being labelled an 'extremist' and made vulnerable to further state violence. Situating this within broader changes such as the hostile environment, austerity, and the cost of living crisis, who gets what is increasingly decided through who counts as sufficiently 'British'.