Youth, Multiculturalism and Community Cohesion

Youth, Multiculturalism and Community Cohesion

Palgrave Politics of Identity and Citizenship Series Series Editors: Varun Uberoi, University of Oxford; Nasar Meer, University of Southampton and Tariq Modood, University of Bristol The politics of identity and citizenship has assumed increasing importance as our polities have become significantly more culturally, ethnically and religiously diverse. Different types of scholars, including philosophers, sociologists, political scientists and historians make contributions to this field and this series showcases a variety of innovative contributions to it. Focusing on a range of different countries, and utilising the insights of different disciplines, the series helps to illuminate an increasingly controversial area of research and titles in it will be of interest to a number of audiences including scholars, students and other interested individuals. Titles include: Derek McGhee SECURITY, CITIZENSHIP AND HUMAN RIGHTS Shared values in uncertain times Nasar Meer CITIZENSHIP, IDENTITY AND THE POLITICS OF MULTICULTURALISM The rise of Muslim consciousness Ganesh Nathan SOCIAL FREEDOM IN A MULTICULTURAL STATE Towards a theory of intercultural justice Michel Seymour (editor) THE PLURAL STATES OF RECOGNITION Paul Thomas YOUTH, MULTICULTURALISM AND COMMUNITY COHESION Palgrave Politics of Identity and Citizenship Series Series Standing Order ISBN 978 0 230 24901 1 (hardback) (outside North America only) You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and the ISBN quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England

Youth, Multiculturalism and Community Cohesion Paul Thomas University of Huddersfield, UK

Paul Thomas 2011 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2011 978-0-230-25195-3 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2011 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-32156-8 ISBN 978-0-230-30224-2 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9780230302242 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11

Contents Acknowledgements vi Introduction: Community Cohesion A New British Policy Agenda 1 1 The Emergence of Community Cohesion 14 2 Going with the Flow? International Comparisons 42 3 Community Cohesion: The Death of the British Model of Multiculturalism? 69 4 Myths and Realities: Community Cohesion in Practice 92 5 Community Cohesion: More than Ethnicity? 116 6 Unwilling Citizens? Muslim Young People and Identity 133 7 White Young People and Community Cohesion Refusing Contact? 151 8 A Contradiction to Community Cohesion? The Preventing Violent Extremism Agenda 168 9 Conclusion: Community Cohesion as a New Phase of British Multiculturalism 187 Bibliography 198 Index 209 v

Acknowledgements This book is the culmination of a long-term involvement in researching understandings and impacts of community cohesion practice with young people, and young people s experiences of cohesion and identity in Oldham and Rochdale, Greater Manchester, and I would like to thank all the youth workers and their agencies in those areas who have participated in the research. Youth work professionals around the country continue to work, often in very challenging circumstances, towards a more tolerant, diverse and equal society, and they deserve great praise for their efforts, especially at a time when politicians mistakenly tell us we need less publicly funded work with young people and communities. I have tried to highlight the voices and experiences of those youth workers and the young people who took part in the research processes as much as possible, but the conclusions are inevitably mine. My hope is that, in drawing on real experiences at ground level to suggest what the new policy approaches of community cohesion in Britain do and could represent, this book and its arguments can be of use to policymakers and educational practitioners, as well as academic colleagues and students. In particular, I would like to thank Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council Youth Service for the considerable access that facilitated both my original doctoral research and the Youth Identity Project, and thank the Rochdale Pride Partnership for the funding that enabled the Youth Identity Project to be extended to Rochdale. The positive involvement of a range of youth workers and agencies from Rochdale in that research was a credit to them and their area. I would also like to thank Kirklees Metropolitan Council in West Yorkshire for funding my evaluation of the initial Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) work in their area. I d also like to thank my institution, the University of Huddersfield, and my School, the School of Education and Professional Development, for their consistent support of my research, with this support including study leave and initial funding of the Youth Identity Project that generated much of the data utilised here. Thanks to my colleagues for all their encouragement, in particular to Pete Sanderson, who has worked with me on the Youth Identity Project and generally inspired me, to Helen Jones and Ann Harris for all their help as my research confidence vi

Acknowledgements vii developed, to Jenny Armitage for all her transcription work, to Andy Mycock for his advice and to my dedicated colleagues in the Youth and Community Work Team. I would also like to thank Paul Bagguley and Yasmin Hussain of the School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Leeds, for all their encouragement and guidance as excellent doctoral supervisors. I would like to thank Palgrave Macmillan and their staff for supporting this book, and the anonymous reviewer selected by Palgrave, whose constructive comments on the proposal were invaluable in helping me to shape my approach. I would like to thank the editors and anonymous referees of Youth and Policy and the Journal of Social Policy for their comments on articles that included aspects of what has become Chapters 1 and 4; Jaap Tanja of the Anne Frank Stichting in Amsterdam for his comments on the draft of Chapter 2 concerning developments in the Netherlands; the editors and anonymous referees of Sociology for their comments on the article that included aspects of what has become Chapter 6; and the editors and anonymous referees of The Political Quarterly and the British Journal of Politics and International Relations for their comments on articles that included aspects of what has become Chapter 8. Above all, I would like to thank my family for all their love, support and patience during the writing of this book and during the preceding years of research. Thank you so much to my wife, Bev, my sons Rhys and Matthew, my sister Marie, and especially to my parents, Mel and Meryl, for everything.