Originally published in 1994, this original analysis shows how the British as a people are constantly defined and redefined through their interactions with several ’frontiers of identity’, namely Celts, expatriates, Americans, Europeans, citizens of the Commonwealth and more crucially with ’aliens’. The alien-British relationship is particularly loaded with uneasiness, aversion and hostility. ’Aliens’ a category created by what the author calls ’the frontier guards’ of British identity, are frequently deported or detained. Their sanctuaries are invaded, their legal and humanitarian claims for asylum minutely examined and often denied. This searching exploration of these processes shows how the meaning of who one is depends crucially on who one rejects.

Drawing on a wealth of historical scholarship, research compiled at the time of the original publication and contemporary social theory, this book exposes the unstated assumptions and hidden meanings in the relationship between the ’British’ and ’the others’. It uncovers how the British and their rulers seek to reshape their national identity in a difficult period of post-imperial adjustment, relative economic decline and the European integration of the 1990s.

The book will be of use to students of sociology, politics, history and European studies.