Sanctuary City: A Suspended State - Hardcover

by J. Bagelman (Author)

This book traces the ancient concept of sanctuary. It examines how the contemporary sanctuary city movement contributes to a hostile asylum regime by holding asylum seekers in a suspended state where rights are indefinitely deferred. At the same time, it explores myriad subversive practices challenging this waiting state.

Back Jacket

Sanctuary City: A Suspended State traces the ancient concept of sanctuary up to the present day revealing how the contemporary and supposedly hospitable 'sanctuary city' inadvertently entrenches a hostile asylum regime. This book specifically explores the UK-based sanctuary movement with a focus on Glasgow, host to the largest population of asylum seekers in the UK. Based on ethnographic research this book examines how sanctuary renders intractable the serious problem of protracted waiting, indefinitely deferring the rights of asylum seekers. Whilst illuminating how sanctuary functions as a technology that suspends many lives, this book also explores how the sanctuary city might politically challenge this waiting state.

Author Biography

Jennifer J. Bagelman is Temporary Assistant Professor in Geography at the University of Victoria, Canada, and SSHRC Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of British Columbia, Canada. Previously, she taught at the University of Durham, UK. Jennifer is currently researching the experiential geographies of emergency food provisioning within refugee camps.