The Politics of Immigration and the Politics of Identity | Annual Harrell-Bond Lecture 2025

Two of the most significant political developments in Western nations in recent years have been the growth of hostility to immigration, on the one hand, and the rise of the politics of identity, on the other.

This lecture examines the relationship between the two. It shows how and why the debate about immigration has increasingly become one about culture, history and identity. It shows, too, how the politics of identity, which for much of the postwar period was in the province of the left, has become appropriated (or rather, as the lecture shows, re-appropriated) by the right and by white nationalists, and become a key weapon in their battle against immigration.

Kenan Malik is a writer, lecturer and broadcaster. He is a regular columnist for The Observer, where he has written frequently on issues related to migration and asylum, and an occasional columnist for The New York Times and Göteborgs-Posten.

His latest book, Not So Black and White: A History of Race from White Supremacy to Identity Politics (Hurst, 2023), was selected as one of the 'Books to Read in 2023' in the Financial Times and The Irish Times and was rated one of the 'Best Books of 2023 So Far' in the New Statesman.