- Department of Social Sciences and Languages
Northumbria University
Newcastle
NE1 8ST - 01912324996
Tom Vickers
Nottingham Trent University, School of Social Sciences, Faculty Member
- Social Work, Marxism, Migration Studies, Qualitative methodology, Social Capital, Race and Racism, and 29 moreRefugee Studies, Political Economies of Capitalism, Imperialism/Colonialism, Racism, and Patriarchy, Applied Social Science, Internationalisation of Higher Education, Social Policy, International Political Economy, Colonialism, Imperialism, Empire, Disaster risk reduction, Participatory Decision Making, Forced Migration, Humanitarian Intervention, Community Resilience, British Imperialism, Asylum seekers, Disaster Response, Sociology of Migration, Race and Ethnicity, Racism, Refugees, Social Movements, Migration, Capitalism, Political Economy, Social Justice, Sociology, Transnational migration, and Citizenshipedit
- Tom Vickers is employed as an Associate Professor in Sociology within the School of Social Sciences at Nottingham Tre... moreTom Vickers is employed as an Associate Professor in Sociology within the School of Social Sciences at Nottingham Trent University. Prior to this he worked at Northumbria and Durham Universities.
Research interests:
Tom has a keen commitment to social justice and anti-oppressive social interventions. A related set of themes run through Tom's research across different projects, concerning: the impact of international, national and local economic and political contexts on policies affecting migrants and ethnic minorities; the interaction between policy, professional practice, and community action; and the creative use of qualitative methods to bring into focus voices which are often marginalised or ignored in policy debates.
Education:
Tom graduated from Durham with a BA (1st class hons.) in Youth and Community Work in 2005. During the final summer of his undergraduate programme Tom was awarded a Junior Research Associate bursary by the Faculty of Social Sciences and Health, undertaking research with Professor Sarah Banks which contributed to an ongoing evaluation of the Empowering Communities training programme. After a period as a professional youth worker Tom returned to academia in 2006 to undertake research into the changing relationship of social professionals to social and political action, funded by an ESRC 1+3 postgraduate study grant. This research developed into an investigation of the role of asylum seekers and refugees working as volunteers in mediating other refugees' relationship to the British state. He achieved a distinction in the Social Research Methods (Social Work) MA in 2007, and submitted his PhD thesis in 2010, passing his Viva examination on 4 January 2011 with no corrections, examined by Professor John Solomos (City University London) and Professor Gary Craig (Durham University). Tom was awarded best undergraduate student in the School of Applied Social Sciences in 2004, and best postgraduate student in the school in 2010.edit
Research Interests: Human Geography and Area
In recent years British welfare policy and immigration policy have intertwined in new ways, with widespread cuts alongside increasing condi-tionality, rationing, and differentiation of rights. This article explores perspectives among... more
In recent years British welfare policy and immigration policy have intertwined in new ways, with widespread cuts alongside increasing condi-tionality, rationing, and differentiation of rights. This article explores perspectives among activists attempting to resist these developments, with a focus on those that go beyond narrow reactions and engage in systemic critiques. It draws on in-depth qualitative interviews with activists from a variety of campaigns in England. The article presents a conceptual framework, synthesising these activists' ideas and comprising three elements: racialised profit-seeking as a driver of policy; 'situ-ated universalism' as a counter-hegemonic basis for unity; and a theory of change through grassroots campaigns.
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This chapter discusses the contemporary role of migration within imperialist capitalism, with particular attention to how migration is structured by borders.
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This article conceptualises the role of mobilities within precarious working and living conditions, drawing on qualitative analysis of interviews (n = 52) and a policy seminar (n = 50) in North-East England. It focuses on refugees, asylum... more
This article conceptualises the role of mobilities within precarious working and living conditions, drawing on qualitative analysis of interviews (n = 52) and a policy seminar (n = 50) in North-East England. It focuses on refugees, asylum seekers, and Eastern European EU migrants, as policy-constructed groups that have been identified as disproportionately concentrated in precarious work. The article develops three ‘dynamics of precarity’, defined as ‘surplus’, ‘rooted’, and ‘hyper-flexible’, to conceptualise distinct ways of moving that represent significant variations in the form that precarity takes. The article concludes that understanding precarity through mobilities can identify points of connection among today’s increasingly heterogeneous working class.
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The relationship of Marxism to social work is highly contested and contradictory. Tavares (2013) suggests that social work and Marxism might be considered intrinsically connected and/or diametrically opposed, because both share a concern... more
The relationship of Marxism to social work is highly contested and contradictory. Tavares (2013) suggests that social work and Marxism might be considered intrinsically connected and/or diametrically opposed, because both share a concern with the ‘social question’ but social work has often been involved in managing the contradictions of capitalism and thereby sustaining it. This is further complicated by disputes over what 'Marxism' means. The English-language literature on Marxist social work is mostly limited to the ‘Radical Social Work’ (RSW) tradition, and the experience of socialist countries is neglected. For example Strug (2006) observes the almost total absence in the international social work literature of “information about Cuban social work, the changes it has undergone, or its relevance for the international social work community” (p. 750). Filling the gaps in the literature is a huge task, beyond the scope of this chapter. Instead this chapter outlines some key features of Marxism as it relates to social work, and offers examples of Marxist social work within the varying contexts of capitalist states, popular movements, and socialist states. The chapter is informed by a review of historical and contemporary literature, building on Vickers (2015).
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This article considers the role of temporality in the differential inclusion of migrants. In order to do this we draw on research which examined the working lives of a diverse group of new migrants in North East England: Eastern European... more
This article considers the role of temporality in the differential inclusion of migrants. In order to do this we draw on research which examined the working lives of a diverse group of new migrants in North East England: Eastern European migrants arriving from 2004 and asylum seekers and refugees arriving from 1999. In so doing we emphasise both distinct and shared experiences, related to immigration status but also a range of other dimensions of identity. We specifically consider how dominant temporalities regulate the lives of new migrants through degrees, periods and moments of acceleration/deceleration. The paper illustrates the ways in which dominant temporalities control access and non-access to particular, often precarious forms of work – but also how migrants attempt to navigate such restrictions through their own use and constructions of time. We explore this in relation to three 'phases' of time. Firstly, through experiences of the UK asylum system and work prohibition. Secondly for a broader group of participants we explore the speeding up and slowing down of transitions to and progression within work. Lastly, we consider how participants experience everyday temporal tensions between paid employment and unpaid care. Across these phases we suggest that dominant orderings of time and the narratives which make sense of these, represent non-simultaneous temporalities that do not neatly map onto each other.
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This paper presents methodological reflections from a programme of empirical research across two distinct but related projects, which culminated in an examination of the employment experiences of new migrants in the North East of England.... more
This paper presents methodological reflections from a programme of empirical research across two distinct but related projects, which culminated in an examination of the employment experiences of new migrants in the North East of England. This mixed-methods research focussed on the position and experiences of migrants from the Eastern European countries joining the EU in 2004 and 2007, and refugees and asylum seekers from a broad range of countries. Co-produced by an inter-disciplinary academic team, migrants living and working in the region and voluntary sector organisations involving and supporting migrants, the research looked to address gaps in evidence to support education, advocacy and service provision. The paper argues that while co-production has tremendous potential to traverse the borders of theory and action in pursuit of positive change in people's lives, careful consideration needs to be given to distinct incarnations and the manner in which co-production emerges through specific conditions and relationships. We identify the principles underpinning this research, but also illustrate how our approach developed over time into a form of distributed-resource, which was able to connect organisations, people and financial resources from varied sources around shared values and an interest in outcomes.
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This article analyses discourses about migration within three documentaries that were broadcast on terrestrial British television in January 2014: The Truth about Immigration in the UK and The Hidden World of Britain’s Immigrants, both... more
This article analyses discourses about migration within three documentaries that were broadcast on terrestrial British television in January 2014: The Truth about Immigration in the UK and The Hidden World of Britain’s Immigrants, both broadcast on BBC 2, and Episode 2 of Benefits Street, broadcast on Channel 4. The methodology involved a detailed analysis of the documentaries, situated within a Marxist analysis of British capitalism, the capitalist crisis, and the economic and political position of migrants. Amidst the contradictions and complexities that were identified within these documentaries, representations of ‘migrants’ can be grouped into three categories: disposable labour; passive victim; and active threat. We argue these discursive roles reflect and reinforce capitalist exploitation, by constructing ‘migrants’ as a mutable ‘other’ to divide the working class.
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Book Review Symposium: Michael Burawoy (ed.), Precarious Engagements: Combat in the Realm of Public Sociology
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This chapter explores the diversity within Marxist approaches to social work, outlining key aspects of Marxism and the implications for social work under capitalist states, in situations where states break down, and under socialist... more
This chapter explores the diversity within Marxist approaches to social work, outlining key aspects of Marxism and the implications for social work under capitalist states, in situations where states break down, and under socialist states. Within each of these contexts, key examples are explored to demonstrate the range of approaches taken. The entry argues that there has been a neglect in the English-language literature of Marxist approaches to social work under socialism, and suggests that recent moves to open up the definition of social work through the concept of ‘popular social work’ offer one approach to begin filling this gap.
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This article asks whether volunteering by refugees and asylum seekers holds potential to foster collective resistance to the British state’s increasingly punitive asylum policies. It draws on research that included four organizational... more
This article asks whether volunteering by refugees and asylum seekers holds potential to foster collective resistance to the British state’s increasingly punitive asylum policies. It draws on research that included four organizational case studies and in-depth qualitative interviews with refugees and asylum seekers volunteering in a city in Northern England, and analyses this data using inter-related concepts of contradiction, hegemony and social capital. This research found that volunteering by refugees and asylum seekers had potential to contribute to cohesive social blocs that might form a basis for resistance, yet also exhibited tendencies to divide refugees and encourage individualised forms of action, which reinforced a subordinate position for the majority. The article concludes that realizing the potential of voluntary activity as a basis for collective resistance to the state’s asylum policies may require it to be combined with political education and organization.
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Since the mid-1990s third-sector professionals and organizations have come under increasing pressure to help enforce restrictive and punitive policies towards refugees and asylum seekers. This paper presents one response, using an... more
Since the mid-1990s third-sector professionals and organizations have come under increasing pressure to help enforce restrictive and punitive policies towards refugees and asylum seekers. This paper presents one response, using an empirical case study to develop an Independent Anti-Racist Model for asylum rights organizing. This combines data from a three-year study comparing four organizations in a major city in England and reflections on the author's experience as a member of the case study organization, contextualized in the literature. The paper identifies a related set of features distinguishing this model from other types of organization and the conditions making it possible, and concludes that it offers wider lessons for work with groups in a conflictual relationship with the state.
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This article surveys recent developments in relation to the dimensions of ethnicity and ethnic disadvantage in social policy research and practice, with a focus on social care. While there has been limited increase in attention to... more
This article surveys recent developments in relation to the dimensions of ethnicity and ethnic disadvantage in social policy research and practice, with a focus on social care. While there has been limited increase in attention to ethnicity within general policy discussion and increasing sophistication within specialist debates, advances in theory and methodology have largely failed to penetrate the mainstream of research, let alone policy or practice. This is a long standing problem. We argue for a more focussed consideration of ethnicity and ethnic disadvantage at all levels. Failure to do so creates the risk of social policy research being left behind in understanding rapid changes in ethnic minority demographics and patterns of migration, and increasing disadvantage to minorities.
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"This thesis uses an empirically informed Marxist analysis to investigate the role of interests, consciousness and unpaid activity of refugees and asylum seekers in shaping their relationships with the British state, including case... more
"This thesis uses an empirically informed Marxist analysis to investigate the role of interests, consciousness and unpaid activity of refugees and asylum seekers in shaping their relationships with the British state, including case studies from the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. I argue that antagonism between the British state and refugees from economically underdeveloped countries is rooted in capitalist relations of production, with Britain occupying an imperialist position. The thesis advances a novel perspective on ‘social capital’, understood as purposive and sustained forms of non-contractual engagement, with implicit norms and values. Social capital is ‘unmasked’ as a way of understanding and intervening in relations at an individual level, in order to influence change at a social level. I argue that the tendency of recent Labour governments’ policy has been to break up social capital formations among refugees which are seen as threatening, whilst actively cultivating formations which engage refugees on an individual basis, as part of managing their oppression. The thesis identifies contradictions and possibilities for resistance within this process, such as simultaneous tendencies for volunteering to contribute to more collective forms of identity and more individualised forms of action.
The multi-level research design explores processes connecting the individual to the global. Empirical data is used to interrogate and develop a theoretical framework which is rooted in classical Marxism, draws on insights developed within qualitative social research methods and anti-oppressive practice, and engages creatively with challenges from post-modernism and feminism. The methodology combines: theoretical research; secondary statistics and literature at an international level; interviews with key participants and archival research on local histories of migration and settlement, including three organisational case studies; four contemporary organisational case studies; and individual volunteer case studies based on semi-structured interviews and focus groups with eighteen refugees and asylum seekers."
The multi-level research design explores processes connecting the individual to the global. Empirical data is used to interrogate and develop a theoretical framework which is rooted in classical Marxism, draws on insights developed within qualitative social research methods and anti-oppressive practice, and engages creatively with challenges from post-modernism and feminism. The methodology combines: theoretical research; secondary statistics and literature at an international level; interviews with key participants and archival research on local histories of migration and settlement, including three organisational case studies; four contemporary organisational case studies; and individual volunteer case studies based on semi-structured interviews and focus groups with eighteen refugees and asylum seekers."
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This article critically examines a regional programme of community development learning in the context of current UK government policies to develop and engage ‘active communities’ in neighbourhood and civil renewal. It outlines the... more
This article critically examines a regional programme of community development learning in the context of current UK government policies to develop and engage ‘active communities’ in neighbourhood and civil renewal. It outlines the positive outcomes of offering focussed community development learning at local level in developing individual confidence and skills and enhancing community networks. It also highlights the limitations of working to individual training/qualifications targets, prescribed outputs and pre-defined curricula in terms of achieving ‘active communities’ that are either fit for community governance or for more radical collective action for social change.
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This book responds to global tendencies toward increasingly restrictive border controls and populist movements targeting migrants for violence and exclusion. Informed by Marxist theory, it challenges standard narratives about immigration... more
This book responds to global tendencies toward increasingly restrictive border controls and populist movements targeting migrants for violence and exclusion. Informed by Marxist theory, it challenges standard narratives about immigration and problematises commonplace distinctions between ‘migrants’ and ‘workers’. Using Britain as a case study, the book examines how these categories have been constructed and mobilised within representations of a ‘migrant crisis’ and a ‘welfare crisis’ to facilitate capitalist exploitation. It uses ideas from grassroots activism to propose alternative understandings of the relationship between borders, migration and class that provide a basis for solidarity.
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"Reviews: 'Vickers has written a stimulating book, casting a Marxist lens on the policies with which the British state has sought to control and contain the demands of asylum seekers. Vickers' original research highlights the strengths... more
"Reviews: 'Vickers has written a stimulating book, casting a Marxist lens on the policies with which the British state has sought to control and contain the demands of asylum seekers. Vickers' original research highlights the strengths and dignity within which asylum seekers and refugees seek to resist their subjugation as unpaid voluntary workers or marginalised low-paid labour and carve out a life in a society that cares little for them. Their capacity to look after each other stands in impressive contrast to the state's indifference. This is a book all anti-racist practitioners and students ought to read.'
Lena Dominelli, The University of Durham, UK
‘Vickers' book makes an original, stimulating and thoughtful contribution, applying a familiar analysis in a new context. What marks this out from other literature regarding refugees and immigration more generally, is his use of Marxist theory to situate the discussion. Illuminated by rich local case material, this will be thought-provoking for a wide range of professional workers, not just advocates for refugees.’
Gary Craig, Wilberforce Institute, UK
‘This is an informed and trenchant analysis of the role of the British state in shaping the experiences of refugees. Drawing on detailed new research and theoretical reflection it is indispensable reading for those interested in a deeper understanding of the changing position of refugees in contemporary societies.’
John Solomos, City University London, UK
Today, in a period of economic crisis, public sector cuts and escalating class struggle, Marxism offers important tools for social workers and service users to understand the structures of oppression they face and devise effective means of resistance. This book uses Marxism's lost insights and reinterprets them in the current context by focussing on one particular section of the international working class- refugees and asylum seekers in Britain.
Vickers' analysis demonstrates the general utility of a Marxist approach, enabling an exploration of the interplay between state policies, how these are experienced by their subjects, and how conflicts are mediated. The substantive focus of the book is twofold: to analyse the material basis of the oppression of refugees in Britain by the British state; and to examine the means by which the British state has 'managed' this oppression through the cultivation of a 'refugee relations industry', within a broader narrative of 'social capital building'.
These questions demand answers if social workers and other practitioners are to successfully work with refugees and asylum seekers, and this book provides these through a detailed Marxist analysis."
Lena Dominelli, The University of Durham, UK
‘Vickers' book makes an original, stimulating and thoughtful contribution, applying a familiar analysis in a new context. What marks this out from other literature regarding refugees and immigration more generally, is his use of Marxist theory to situate the discussion. Illuminated by rich local case material, this will be thought-provoking for a wide range of professional workers, not just advocates for refugees.’
Gary Craig, Wilberforce Institute, UK
‘This is an informed and trenchant analysis of the role of the British state in shaping the experiences of refugees. Drawing on detailed new research and theoretical reflection it is indispensable reading for those interested in a deeper understanding of the changing position of refugees in contemporary societies.’
John Solomos, City University London, UK
Today, in a period of economic crisis, public sector cuts and escalating class struggle, Marxism offers important tools for social workers and service users to understand the structures of oppression they face and devise effective means of resistance. This book uses Marxism's lost insights and reinterprets them in the current context by focussing on one particular section of the international working class- refugees and asylum seekers in Britain.
Vickers' analysis demonstrates the general utility of a Marxist approach, enabling an exploration of the interplay between state policies, how these are experienced by their subjects, and how conflicts are mediated. The substantive focus of the book is twofold: to analyse the material basis of the oppression of refugees in Britain by the British state; and to examine the means by which the British state has 'managed' this oppression through the cultivation of a 'refugee relations industry', within a broader narrative of 'social capital building'.
These questions demand answers if social workers and other practitioners are to successfully work with refugees and asylum seekers, and this book provides these through a detailed Marxist analysis."
Research Interests:
In his book, Refugees, Capitalism and the British State: Implications for Social Workers, Volunteers and Activists, Tom Vickers presents an unapologetic Marxist analysis of refugees and asylum-seekers in Britain with special attention to... more
In his book, Refugees, Capitalism and the British State: Implications for Social Workers, Volunteers and Activists, Tom Vickers presents an unapologetic Marxist analysis of refugees and asylum-seekers in Britain with special attention to how activists and other NGOs may address the underlying issues related to capitalist reproduction. The author is well aware of the seeming anachronism of his approach even in the wake of a global recession in which the workers of the world have only retreated and Anglo politicians continue tilting rightward. Using qualitative research methods on several refugee organizations and non-random interviews with both refugees and social workers in the New Castle region of the United Kingdom, Vickers thoroughly explores several themes of both practical and theoretical concern to those with interests in these areas.
There are four substantial chapters beyond the introductory chapter in which the author unfolds his primary arguments. The first weaves the themes of imperialism, nationalism, racism, and gender, mixing the treatment of black people in Britain with the treatment of refugees from the global South. In the next chapter, he takes up the relationship between refugees and the British state as an example illustrating the class basis of the “imperialist state.” The root oppression, disempowerment, and discrimination experienced by refugees are connected to particular kinds of capitalist-friendly governments within a hegemonic British orbit beyond the immediate racism described in a previous chapter. Here, any immediate causes or drivers of what is normally conceived of as involuntary mobility are recast as an anomalous labor outcropping of the wars, famine, and ethnic tensions arising from the colonial and neocolonial relationships from which they sprang. Thus, refugees are reframed as part of an international division of labor (and a relatively privileged group at that), though their immediate concerns are not overtly about employment and they are disallowed from work at their destination in the United Kingdom. Like other chapters, much of the analysis is a historical recap of the Marxist narrative, with regular quotes from Marx and Engels.
A chapter exploring the “refugee relations industry” mediating, brokering, and negotiating the many contradictions of British state aid as a form of institutionalized racism and labor exploitation follows. Here again, Vickers reviews the gendered and racist policies…
This is an extract from a review by David Kyle in Contemporary Sociology 44(2), read the full review at: http://csx.sagepub.com/content/44/2/272.full
There are four substantial chapters beyond the introductory chapter in which the author unfolds his primary arguments. The first weaves the themes of imperialism, nationalism, racism, and gender, mixing the treatment of black people in Britain with the treatment of refugees from the global South. In the next chapter, he takes up the relationship between refugees and the British state as an example illustrating the class basis of the “imperialist state.” The root oppression, disempowerment, and discrimination experienced by refugees are connected to particular kinds of capitalist-friendly governments within a hegemonic British orbit beyond the immediate racism described in a previous chapter. Here, any immediate causes or drivers of what is normally conceived of as involuntary mobility are recast as an anomalous labor outcropping of the wars, famine, and ethnic tensions arising from the colonial and neocolonial relationships from which they sprang. Thus, refugees are reframed as part of an international division of labor (and a relatively privileged group at that), though their immediate concerns are not overtly about employment and they are disallowed from work at their destination in the United Kingdom. Like other chapters, much of the analysis is a historical recap of the Marxist narrative, with regular quotes from Marx and Engels.
A chapter exploring the “refugee relations industry” mediating, brokering, and negotiating the many contradictions of British state aid as a form of institutionalized racism and labor exploitation follows. Here again, Vickers reviews the gendered and racist policies…
This is an extract from a review by David Kyle in Contemporary Sociology 44(2), read the full review at: http://csx.sagepub.com/content/44/2/272.full
Research Interests:
One of the central problems that has occupied scholars of racism in the British context has been that posed by the post-war implementation of racist immigration legislation and the subsequent institutionalization of negative racialized... more
One of the central problems that has occupied scholars of racism in the British context has been that posed by the post-war implementation of racist immigration legislation and the subsequent institutionalization of negative racialized practices that this has legitimized across various sectors of the British state. For many anti-racist scholars and activists, a contradiction arises when those very same institutional sectors are bound to abide by anti-discrimination legislation, significantly when the public provision of ‘care’ is practised within the diminishing post-war welfare settlement. Understandably, this places anti-racists who work in the institutions of public-funded welfare, such as social work, in a precarious position, duty-bound to support people in ‘need’ but within the legislative parameters of a ‘racist state’. These are the principle concerns of Tom Vickers’ Refugees, Capitalism and the British State: Implications for Social Workers, Volunteers and Activists and I have no hesitation in recommending the book to readers of Ethnic and Racial Studies.
Vickers explains the dynamics of racialized reception through a Marxist analysis. Taking his cue, refreshingly, from neither the Stalinist nor the current pro-state Left, but from a Hegelian humanist orientation, Vickers emphasizes the imperialist roots of British racism – the form that national oppression takes within the domestic context of the oppressor nation – a view with which I am most sympathetic. Chapter 1 explains the relationship between capitalist competition, accumulation, crisis and imperial conquest, either directly through militarism or indirectly through interstate coercion, up-rooting those populations surplus to requirements, forcing them to seek ‘refuge’ elsewhere. Four further chapters plus the conclusion build on this framework through an extrapolation of the reception of refugees, defined as ‘all those who have come to Britain seeking refuge, whatever the status currently accorded them by the British state’ (1). The analysis draws usefully from original research carried out in Newcastle between 2005 and 2010, including case studies of migrant organizations and in-depth interviews with paid workers and refugee volunteers. Vickers packs a lot into his study, which strengthens his argument...
This is an extract from a review by Dr Christopher Kyriakides at the Cyprus University of Technology. Read the full review in Ethnic and Racial Studies or on Chris's site at: https://www.academia.edu/6319246/Christopher_Kyriakides_2014_Review_of_Tom_Vickers_Refugees_Capitalism_and_the_British_State_Implications_for_Social_Workers_Volunteers_and_Activists_._Journal_of_Ethnic_and_Racial_Studies
Vickers explains the dynamics of racialized reception through a Marxist analysis. Taking his cue, refreshingly, from neither the Stalinist nor the current pro-state Left, but from a Hegelian humanist orientation, Vickers emphasizes the imperialist roots of British racism – the form that national oppression takes within the domestic context of the oppressor nation – a view with which I am most sympathetic. Chapter 1 explains the relationship between capitalist competition, accumulation, crisis and imperial conquest, either directly through militarism or indirectly through interstate coercion, up-rooting those populations surplus to requirements, forcing them to seek ‘refuge’ elsewhere. Four further chapters plus the conclusion build on this framework through an extrapolation of the reception of refugees, defined as ‘all those who have come to Britain seeking refuge, whatever the status currently accorded them by the British state’ (1). The analysis draws usefully from original research carried out in Newcastle between 2005 and 2010, including case studies of migrant organizations and in-depth interviews with paid workers and refugee volunteers. Vickers packs a lot into his study, which strengthens his argument...
This is an extract from a review by Dr Christopher Kyriakides at the Cyprus University of Technology. Read the full review in Ethnic and Racial Studies or on Chris's site at: https://www.academia.edu/6319246/Christopher_Kyriakides_2014_Review_of_Tom_Vickers_Refugees_Capitalism_and_the_British_State_Implications_for_Social_Workers_Volunteers_and_Activists_._Journal_of_Ethnic_and_Racial_Studies
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This refreshing book enlivens the refugees/asylum seeker debate amidst a revived interest in Marxism. By drawing upon qualitative empirical data from his study of Newcastle upon Tyne, Vickers develops a holistic understanding of the lived... more
This refreshing book enlivens the refugees/asylum seeker debate amidst a revived interest in Marxism. By drawing upon qualitative empirical data from his study of Newcastle upon Tyne, Vickers develops a holistic understanding of the lived experiences of refugees and reveals the underlying structures shaping their lives in a historical context. He looks at the capitalist forces and relations of production within which refugees are placed and applies the labour theory of value, surplus value, alienation, class conflict and exploitation to their position. The book poses some important questions not often asked by social workers and other practitioners such as whose interests the British state represents; why refugees, despite the useful and varied skills they bring, continue to be treated inhumanely; why refugees might consent to their treatment; and what the relationship is between refugees and other oppressed and service user groups. The argument is that, in Britain and other ‘oppressor’ countries, refugees form an industrial reserve army of labour and constitute an international working class, managed by the state through a ‘refugees relations industry’ and endorsed by a narrative of ‘social capital building’, where the largely unpaid voluntary work of refugees and their organizations provides a cheap and effective management of potential class conflicts. He thus links the emergence of this industry and its institutions to political economy, class conflict and exploitation.
The introductory chapter sums up the historical processes of Britain’s reliance upon foreign labour to reduce costs of (re)production. The necessity to continuously increase the rate of profit has culminated in wars, …
This is an extract from a review by Surinder Guru, Lecturer at Birmingham University. Read the full review in Critical Social Policy vol. 33 no. 2 358-361, at: http://csp.sagepub.com/content/33/2/358.full.
The introductory chapter sums up the historical processes of Britain’s reliance upon foreign labour to reduce costs of (re)production. The necessity to continuously increase the rate of profit has culminated in wars, …
This is an extract from a review by Surinder Guru, Lecturer at Birmingham University. Read the full review in Critical Social Policy vol. 33 no. 2 358-361, at: http://csp.sagepub.com/content/33/2/358.full.
Research Interests:
Vickers provides an important and timely analysis of state policies to control and contain refugees and asylum seekers in Britain today. At a time of economic crisis and wholesale attacks on the working class, its value is in a... more
Vickers provides an important and timely analysis of state policies to control and contain refugees and asylum seekers in Britain today. At a time of economic crisis and wholesale attacks on the working class, its value is in a re-engagement with Marxism as a tool to understand both the global causes of the mass displacement of millions and the methods used by the British state to manage the relatively small number who find their way here.
The book reminds us of Britain’s role as an oppressor nation fostering a parasitic relationship with the oppressed countries from which refugees come. These ‘super-exploited’ modern migrants prop up British capital both in their countries of origin and once resident here. This ‘Imperialist System’ relies on the international division of the working class …
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This is an extract from a review by Debra Hayes, Senior Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, published in the British Journal of Social Work, the journal of the British Association of Social Workers. Read the full review at: http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/content/43/1/194.full?ijkey=Dqftd7YGt.fzA&keytype=ref&siteid=bjsw
The book reminds us of Britain’s role as an oppressor nation fostering a parasitic relationship with the oppressed countries from which refugees come. These ‘super-exploited’ modern migrants prop up British capital both in their countries of origin and once resident here. This ‘Imperialist System’ relies on the international division of the working class …
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This is an extract from a review by Debra Hayes, Senior Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, published in the British Journal of Social Work, the journal of the British Association of Social Workers. Read the full review at: http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/content/43/1/194.full?ijkey=Dqftd7YGt.fzA&keytype=ref&siteid=bjsw
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During 2018 and 2019 a research team at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) conducted research concerning working conditions for private hire and Hackney taxi drivers in Nottingham, England. Our findings are informed by an exploratory... more
During 2018 and 2019 a research team at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) conducted research concerning working conditions for private hire and Hackney taxi drivers in Nottingham, England. Our findings are informed by an exploratory literature review and in-depth interviews with eight individuals from four local drivers’ organisations, Nottingham City Council, and an organisation supporting students on nights out. This data was used to explore drivers’ working conditions, to which established criteria for ‘Good Work’ and ‘Decent Work’ were applied, subsequently considering possible strategies for improvement.
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Between 2013-16 research examined the position and experiences of ‘new migrants’ in the workforce in North East England, carried out by Nottingham Trent and Northumbria Universities, the International Community Organisation of Sunderland... more
Between 2013-16 research examined the position and experiences of ‘new migrants’ in the workforce in North East England, carried out by Nottingham Trent and Northumbria Universities, the International Community Organisation of Sunderland and the Regional Refugee Forum North East. Methods included a survey completed by 402 migrants, in-depth interviews with 40 migrants, interviews with 12 key stakeholders, and a policy seminar attended by more than 50 people from a range of backgrounds.
Our primary focus was refugees who arrived since Dispersal began in 1999 and migrant workers from the countries in Eastern Europe that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 – one quarter of survey respondents were refugees with some form of leave to remain, one quarter were asylum seekers, one quarter were EU migrants, and the remainder came from a variety of different immigration routs. The most frequent countries of origin were Romania (15%), Sudan (12%), Poland (11%) and Bangladesh (7%).
Our primary focus was refugees who arrived since Dispersal began in 1999 and migrant workers from the countries in Eastern Europe that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 – one quarter of survey respondents were refugees with some form of leave to remain, one quarter were asylum seekers, one quarter were EU migrants, and the remainder came from a variety of different immigration routs. The most frequent countries of origin were Romania (15%), Sudan (12%), Poland (11%) and Bangladesh (7%).
Research Interests:
This review addresses research methods with Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) people using adult social care and support in England. During the last decade there have been considerable changes in how ethnicity is understood. Among these are... more
This review addresses research methods with Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) people using adult social care and support in England. During the last decade there have been considerable changes in how ethnicity is understood. Among these are exciting developments in research sensitive to ethnicity and the further development of anti-racist policy, practice and outcomes in social care. The review summarises these developments and offers practical advice on applying their lessons. Material from other disciplines including health and other disciplines is also drawn on for methodological advances relevant to social care research. The review is designed to be useful not only for researchers who are new to social care (and health care in particular) and hoping to learn more about this important topic, but to seasoned researchers, social care practitioners and students as well.
Research Interests:
This paper analyses the role of UK asylum and welfare policies since 1999 in maintaining and managing the oppression of refugees, including ‘asylum-seekers’ and ‘failed asylum-seekers’. I apply the Marxist theory of the international... more
This paper analyses the role of UK asylum and welfare policies since 1999 in maintaining and managing the oppression of refugees, including ‘asylum-seekers’ and ‘failed asylum-seekers’. I apply the Marxist theory of the international reserve army of labour, with an international division of labour between countries occupying relatively ‘oppressed’ and ‘imperialist’ positions within the capitalist system, and develop it by drawing on a 2007-2010 study that combined statistical data on capital and labour flows and in-depth semi-structured interviews with refugees and asylum seekers. Neoliberal approaches to migration focus on ‘flexibility’, characterized by the expectation that workers will move wherever capital has need for their labour, and that workers from oppressed countries will return to their country of origin when their labour is no longer needed. Refugees in Britain pose an implicit challenge to these imperatives, since they originate predominantly in oppressed countries and make claims to residence and support based on universal human rights. I argue that policies of dispersal, prohibition of paid work and the creation of a parallel welfare system have played a political role in dividing refugees from other sections of the working class in Britain in order to reinforcing neo-liberal labour discipline. The end result of the asylum process for the majority is either inclusion into a more regularised but super-exploited section of the working class in Britain, or return to the situations they have fled, where they once again form part of the international reserve army of labour, ready to be called on when needed by capital. Social workers and other professionals have increasingly been called on to help implement these policies, leading to contradictions between employers’ expectations and workers’ professional, personal and political commitments. This paper considers a range of ways that social workers have responded to this situation, and proposes action that could support the struggles of refugees in the North East.
Research Interests: Political Economy, Marxism, Refugee Studies, Race and Racism, Colonialism, and 10 moreCapitalism, Political Economies of Capitalism, Imperialism/Colonialism, Racism, and Patriarchy, Migration Studies, Sociology of Migration, Transnational migration, British Imperialism, Asylum seekers, Empire, Imperialism, and International Reserve Army of Labour
Research Interests:
Tom Vickers (Senior Research Assistant at Northumbria University and formerly research associate at Durham University) will be introducing his book, 'Refugees, Capitalism and the British State: Implications for Social Workers, Volunteers... more
Tom Vickers (Senior Research Assistant at Northumbria University and formerly research associate at Durham University) will be introducing his book, 'Refugees, Capitalism and the British State: Implications for Social Workers, Volunteers and Activists ', a Marxist analysis of the experiences and oppression of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK and leading a discussion of the implications of his research for social workers, volunteers and activists:
http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781409441526
‘This is an informed and trenchant analysis of the role of the British state in shaping the experiences of refugees' - Professor John Solomos
This talk will be of interest to both practitioners and activists (or indeed practitioner-activists). There will be time to discuss the issues raised in the book and for people to discuss strategies and ideas for future campaigns & projects.
http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781409441526
‘This is an informed and trenchant analysis of the role of the British state in shaping the experiences of refugees' - Professor John Solomos
This talk will be of interest to both practitioners and activists (or indeed practitioner-activists). There will be time to discuss the issues raised in the book and for people to discuss strategies and ideas for future campaigns & projects.
Research Interests: Political Economy, Social Work, Marxism, Race and Racism, Migration, and 10 moreRacism, Migration Studies, Sociology of Migration, Transnational migration, Book Publishing, Asylum seekers, International migration, political economy, international development, Refugees, Anti-Racism, and Refugees, migration and immigration
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Researchers are challenging government policy, exposing untruths and contesting the terms of the debate. We must use our freedom to maintain a radical perspective and build an alternative to austerity and exclusion, says Tom Vickers.
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Despite their determination and aspiration, many young asylum seekers are being barred from higher education by multiple discriminations. The current inquiry on Race and Higher Education must recognise this fact.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Social Movements, Marxism, Refugee Studies, Migration, Social Justice, and 11 moreColonialism, Social Activism, Capitalism, European Immigration and Asylum Law, Political Economies of Capitalism, Imperialism/Colonialism, Racism, and Patriarchy, Migration Studies, Sociology of Migration, Transnational migration, Asylum seekers, Empire, and Imperialism
A magazine article reporting on the impact of the cuts on third sector organisations working with refugees and asylum seekers in North East England.