J. Bagelman Sanctuary City

Annotation

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.