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'Community cohesion' : reflections on a flawed paradigm
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Ratcliffe, Peter (2012) 'Community cohesion' : reflections on a flawed paradigm. Critical Social Policy, Vol.32 (No.2). pp. 262-281. doi:10.1177/0261018311430455 ISSN 0261-0183.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0261018311430455
Abstract
This paper interrogates a concept at the core of a social policy agenda that has dominated thinking in the UK over the past decade. It argues that the notion of ‘community cohesion’ is based on a fundamentally flawed interpretation of the sources of tension and conflict in Britain’s towns and cities. It overly ethnicizes societal divisions and essentializes ethnicity. Examining the development of government policy since 2001 the paper shows that the result has been a predominantly culturalist agenda that obscures key sources of division, most notably those related to social class and material inequality. It is argued that the hegemonic status of this policy stream has also undermined the equalities agenda. The paper concludes with a reflection on the implications of the emergence of a Conservative-led coalition government in May 2010.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||
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Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races | ||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Sociology | ||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Great Britain -- Social policy, Communities -- Great Britain, Social structure -- Great Britain, Equality -- Great Britain | ||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Critical Social Policy | ||||
Publisher: | Sage Publications Ltd. | ||||
ISSN: | 0261-0183 | ||||
Official Date: | 15 March 2012 | ||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | Vol.32 | ||||
Number: | No.2 | ||||
Page Range: | pp. 262-281 | ||||
DOI: | 10.1177/0261018311430455 | ||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 20 December 2015 | ||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 20 December 2015 |
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