A report examined how the increasing numbers and prominence of mixed-race people had changed attitudes towards race.
Source: Rob Ford, Rachael Jolley, Sunder Katwala, and Binita Mehta, The Melting Pot Generation: How Britain became more relaxed on race, British Future
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Dec
An article examined how engagement with Muslims by the state had been conducted under the government's counter-radicalization 'Prevent' agenda. The coalition government's new Prevent strategy operated with a much thinner conception of engagement than under the previous Labour government, and stipulated that Prevent and cohesion work would be kept separate. This new strategy signalled less community engagement and a hardened line on the types of Muslim groups that could be engaged with. However, local actors driven by operational or normative concerns were pursuing somewhat different objectives, often outside central funding streams. Such unintentional localism might sustain more participatory and inclusive modes of engagement with Muslims.
Source: Therese O'Toole, Daniel Nilsson DeHanas, and Tariq Modood, 'Balancing tolerance, security and Muslim engagement in the United Kingdom: the impact of the "Prevent" agenda', Critical Studies on Terrorism, Volume 5 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Dec
An article examined the association between two ethnic density measures and health and experienced racism among Caribbean people in the United States of America and England. In the USA, increased Caribbean ethnic density was associated with improved health and decreased experience of racism: but the opposite was observed in England.
Source: Laia Becares, James Nazroo, James Jackson, and Hein Heuvelman, 'Ethnic density effects on health and experienced racism among Caribbean people in the US and England: a cross-national comparison', Social Science & Medicine, Volume 75 Issue 12
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Nov
A new book examined the rise of far-Right political movements, and how previously marginal characters from a tiny neo-Nazi subculture had managed to exploit the tensions arising from the 'war on terror' and from steepening economic inequality.
Source: Daniel Trilling, Bloody Nasty People: Political racism from the BNP to the EDL, Verso Books
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Oct
A think-tank briefing outlined a new approach to the integration of minority cultural communities, called 'everyday integration'. Future work should focus on sites where identities were constructed and reconstructed, and where new possibilities of group allegiance were continually developed. Four potential areas for further exploration were: early years childcare; shopping and consumption; leisure activities; and supplementary education.
Source: Clare McNeil and Myriam Cherti, Rethinking Integration, Institute for Public Policy Research
Links: Briefing
Date: 2012-Oct
An article examined the internal consistency and validity of six attitudes scales assessing left-right beliefs, political cynicism, anti-racism, libertarian-authoritarian views, and gender equality (two versions) in two large nationally representative samples of the British population born in 1958 and 1970. All six attitudes scales had good internal reliability and factorial stability, as well as external validity; and they were robust and consistent over time.
Source: Helen Cheng, John Bynner, Richard Wiggins, and Ingrid Schoon, 'The measurement and evaluation of social attitudes in two British cohort studies', Social Indicators Research, Volume 107 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
A report documented patterns of violence by far-Right groups in Europe. Although the principal targets were Muslims in western Europe and the Roma in eastern Europe, anti-black racism and anti-Semitism were also on the increase.
Source: Liz Fekete, Pedlars of Hate: The violent impact of the far Right, Institute of Race Relations
Links: Report | IRR press release
Date: 2012-Jun
An article used the Office for National Statistics longitudinal study for England and Wales to investigate whether mixed-ethnic unions were more likely to end in divorce than co-ethnic unions. It followed married couples over the period 1991-2001 and examined their risks of divorce. There was evidence that mixed-ethnic unions had a higher risk of dissolution than co-ethnic unions. However, after controlling for partners' characteristics – most importantly the younger ages of people in mixed-ethnic unions – it was found that the risk of divorce for mixed-ethnic unions was not elevated.
Source: Zhiqiang Feng, Paul Boyle, Maarten van Ham, and Gillian Raab, 'Are mixed-ethnic unions more likely to dissolve than co-ethnic unions? New evidence from Britain', European Journal of Population, Volume 28 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
An article examined whether contact with ethnic minorities exacerbated or lessened the racial prejudice of white people, based on a study of recruitment by the British National Party (BNP). The BNP was found to recruit fewer white members from communities in which: whites interacted more frequently with non-whites; whites were exposed to greater racial diversity within the non-white population; and there were more mixed-race offspring from white and non-white parents. Overall, there was 'compelling evidence' that contact with ethnic minorities reduced the racial prejudice of white people.
Source: Clive Lennox, 'Racial integration, ethnic diversity, and prejudice: empirical evidence from a study of the British National Party', Oxford Economic Papers, Volume 64 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jun
A new book said that social cohesion was achieved through people (new arrivals as well as the long-term settled) being able to resolve the conflicts and tensions within their day-to-day lives in ways that they found positive and viable. It challenged the view that social cohesion was about the assimilation of new immigrants through acceptance of shared values of 'Britishness'. It was instead achieved through people's broad acceptance of a diverse Britain, and by navigating the fine lines between separateness and commonalities/differences and unity in the places where they lived.
Source: Mary Hickman, Nicola Mai, and Helen Crowley, Migration and Social Cohesion in the UK, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-May
An article said that the notion of 'community cohesion' was based on a fundamentally flawed interpretation of the sources of tension and conflict in urban areas. It overly 'ethnicized' societal divisions and 'essentialized' ethnicity. The result had been an obscuring of key divisions related to social class and material inequality.
Source: Peter Ratcliffe, '"Community cohesion": reflections on a flawed paradigm', Critical Social Policy, Volume 32 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
A report examined the practices of local and regional authorities in respect of changing attitudes towards migrants. Many authorities had doubts about the language of 'integration', with some preferred 'equality', 'community cohesion' or 'social inclusion'.
Source: Hannah Jones, Country Research Report: United Kingdom, Attitudes to Migrants, Communication and Local Leadership (European Commission programme)
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Apr
A think-tank report examined how previous approaches to community relations (such as multiculturalism) had affected the way in which communities interacted; how integration could be promoted in an age of austerity; and the skills that local authorities and community groups needed to establish better relations between people from a range of backgrounds.
Source: Interculturalism: A breakdown of thinking and practice: lessons from the field, brap
Date: 2012-Apr
A report examined four different options for integration and equality of opportunity for all citizens in Europe, focusing on the Muslim population. Some ethnic minorities might wish to assimilate; some to have the equal rights of integrated citizens; some to maintain the cultural differences of their group identities; and some to be free to choose cosmopolitan mixed identities. All of these approaches had value, and if citizens were to have not just rights but a sense of belonging to society governments should not seek to impose one particular option.
Source: Tariq Modood, Post-Immigration Difference and Integration: The case of Muslims in western Europe, British Academy
Links: Report | British Academy press release | Bristol University press release
Date: 2012-Feb
The coalition government published a strategy for enabling and encouraging integration in communities throughout England. It said that the strategy was based on five key factors:
Common ground – shared aspirations and values, and a focus on what people had in common rather than on difference.
Responsibility – promoting a strong sense of mutual commitment and obligation.
Social mobility – people being able to realize their potential to get on in life.
Participation and empowerment – people having the opportunities to take part and take decisions in local and national life.
Challenge to intolerance and extremism – a robust response to threats that deepened division and increased tensions.
Source: Creating the Conditions for Integration, Department for Communities and Local Government
Links: Strategy | Hansard | DCLG press release | EHRC press release | Labour Party press release | MRN press release | Runnymede Trust press release
Date: 2012-Feb