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

作为互联社区方案的一部分进行的三项范围界定研究得出的一个关键主题是，关于被边缘化的年轻人及其与社区的“联系和隔绝”，在多个社区内部和跨社区工作的关键个人[‘连接者’]往往在调解他们生活中面临的许多关键问题方面发挥重要作用。界定范围的研究表明，正是这些位于有时重叠的社区交叉点的“连接器”充当了连接的管道。关于穆斯林青年，由于将重点放在预防和应对与基地组织有关的恐怖主义上，青年穆斯林受到越来越多的审视和怀疑，被认为是最容易受到基地组织意识形态影响和需要支持的群体。一代年轻的穆斯林经历了后9/11时代的成长岁月，在这个世界里，国家和非国家的暴力--反恐战争、阿富汗战争、伊拉克战争、伊斯兰主义战争以及世界各地的一系列恐怖袭击--都通过他们那个时代最主要的话语与他们自己的信仰和身份联系在一起(麦克唐纳，2011)。白人，工薪阶层，被边缘化的青年在犯罪化/黑帮化问题上也经历了类似的妖魔化，同时也经历了激进化(Davis和BourHill，1997；Squires和Stephen，2005)。最初是通过政治言论和立法动员起来的，旨在解决“反社会”行为(Squires和Stephen，2005)，对贫困青年的刑事化迅速升级，最终包括更严重的犯罪行为，包括持刀和枪支犯罪(Squires and Goldsmith，2010；Goldson，2011)。在这些背景下，关键的“连接者”一直在与边缘化的青年合作，通常是在贫困、排斥和帮派暴力的地区，以支持和发展年轻人，防止他们的“暴力激进化”(Baker，2011；Bulloch和Tilley，2008)。在街道上和贫困社区的家中，年轻人利用错综复杂的联系网络来管理退化和脱节的福利国家的影响，并试图改善贫困和排斥，抵制进一步的边缘化、受害和刑事化进程(Cavalcanti等人，2011年)。这些联系主要通过亲属关系运作，特别是在更成熟的社区，但也可以包括其他人，如值得信赖的青年工作者、体育领袖和社区活动家。尽管在探索年轻人之间的联系和脱离模式时，“连接者”似乎很重要，但到目前为止，关于“连接者”在与被边缘化的年轻人工作和联系方面所起的作用的专门研究很少。这项研究有以下目标：(1)更好地了解谁是“连接者”，他们如何与被边缘化的年轻人打交道，以及他们如何被更广泛的社区看待。(2)检查“连接者”如何声称并维持合法性和影响力。(3)研究连接者角色的一些限制，以及将连接者转变为“草”角色的可能压力。(4)从历史的角度探索“连接者”的作用，探索过去与不满和暴力有关的干预可能被概念化为涉及“连接者”的关键案例。这些目标将通过关注以下关键研究问题来实现：在他们所连接的社区中，如何看待个别连接者？随着时间的推移，他们是如何被看待的？个体是如何被与之互动的人“选择”的？这些人感受到和/或制造了什么紧张，他们可能如何改变社区的边界？连接器可以批评政府的政策吗？如果是的话，对他们与年轻人的工作有什么影响？

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?