Abstract

In this episode, Michaela is joined by Lorenza Antonucci (University of Birmingham) and Simone Varriale (University of Lincoln). They discuss the conclusions of their recent paper Unequal Europe, Unequal Brexit ( https://research.birmingham.ac.uk/portal/files/69623578/Antonucci_Varriale_Unequal_Europe_Current_Sociology_2019.pdf ). In particular, they focus on their call to recognise that an understanding of the inequalities at the heart of Brexit need to account for Britain’s position within the European project and the different stakes of member states within the European project. Focusing on the case of EU migrants in the UK, they discuss how the relationships between the UK and other member states have shaped EU migration flows—through the demands and opportunities of the labour market—and inspired migrant imaginaries. As they stress, remembering that Brexit is variously located within the relationship between Britain and the EU is an important counterpoint to parochial understandings of Brexit and its impacts.