Connectors, not Communities, in Preventing and Responding to Violence and Disaffection; Marginalised Youth in relation to Complexities of 'Community'.

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A critical theme emerging from three scoping studies conducted as part of the Connected Communities programme is that, in relation to marginalised young people and their "connections and disconnections" with communities, key individuals ['connectors'] working within and across multiple communities often play a significant role in mediating many of the critical issues facing their lives. The scoping studies suggest that it is these 'connectors', who are positioned at the intersections of sometimes overlapping communities, who act as conduits of connectivity. In relation to Muslim youth, as a result of significant policy and practice focus upon preventing and responding to Al Qaeda linked terrorism, young Muslims have come under increasing scrutiny and suspicion, identified as the most susceptible to AQ ideology and in need of support. A generation of young Muslims have experienced their formative years in a post-9/11 world in which state and non-state violence - a 'war on terror', on Afghanistan, on Iraq, on 'Islamism', and a stream of terror attacks across the world - have been linked to their own beliefs and identities by the most dominant discourses of their day (McDonald, 2011). White, working class, marginalised youth have experienced similar demonization around issues of criminalisation/gangsterisation alongside 'radicalisation' (Davis and Bourhill, 1997; Squires and Stephen, 2005). Initially mobilised through political rhetoric and legislation designed to tackle 'anti-social' behavior (Squires and Stephen, 2005), the criminalization of poor youth escalated quickly and eventually encompassed significantly more serious criminality including knife and gun crime (Squires and Goldsmith, 2010; Goldson, 2011).Within these contexts, key 'connectors' have been working with marginalised youth, often in areas marked by poverty, exclusion and gang violence, to support and develop young people and to prevent their 'violent radicalisation' (Baker, 2011; Bulloch and Tilley, 2008). On the streets and in the homes of poor neighbourhoods intricate networks of connection are used by young people to manage the impact of a degraded and disconnected welfare state and as an attempt to ameliorate poverty and exclusion and resist further marginalisation, victimisation and processes of criminalisation (Cavalcanti et al 2011). These connections primarily operate through kith and kin relationships, particularly in more established communities, but can also include others; such as trusted youth workers, sports leaders, and community activists. Despite the seeming significance of 'connectors' when exploring modes of connectedness and disconnectedness amongst young people, to date very little research has been conducted specifically on the role that 'connectors' play in relation to working and connecting with marginalised youth. This study has the following objectives:(1) To better understand who 'connectors' are, how they work with marginalised young people, and how they are viewed by wider communities.(2) To examine how 'connectors' claim and sustain legitimacy and influence. (3) To examine some of the limits to the connector role and possible pressures to move connectors to the role of 'grass'.(4) To explore the role of 'connectors' from an historical perspective, exploring key cases in the past where interventions in relation to disaffection and violence might be conceptualized as involving 'connectors'.These objectives will be pursued by focussing on the following key research questions:How are individual connectors viewed within the communities they bridge? How have they been viewed through time?How are individuals 'chosen' by those with whom they interact? What tensions are felt and/or created by these individuals, and how may they alter the boundaries of communities? Can connectors critique government policy, and if so, what are the implications for their work with young people?