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This volume examines the diverse ways in which the myth of Sweden as the most gender-equal country in the world has been challenged both from within and from without. Detailing the appropriation of the gender equality mantra by right-wing political parties, its depoliticisation within neoliberal audit culture, the nationalist underpinnings which accompany this mantra within Sweden, and the impacts this has had on equality policies, this volume argues that the gender equality mantra in Sweden has served to reinforce heteronormative, white, middle-class norms. Racist and other oppressive stances are obscured by a rhetoric of Swedish exceptionalism. In challenging the adequacy of the current Swedish gender equality model, the contributors to this volume call for a re-thinking of political subjectivities, for an understanding of gender equality as a contested terrain, and for the re-framing of equality politics from an intersectional perspective.

East London has undergone dramatic changes over the last 30 years, primarily as a result of London's large-scale de-industrialisation and the rise in its financial sector. Large parts of inner East London remain deprived, but a once overwhelmingly white working-class area is now home to a more complex and mobile class and ethnic mix. This book focuses on the aspirations of these different groups and the strategies they have pursued about where to live, driven in part by a concern to ensure a good education for their children.

This book focuses on the changing terrain of ethnic disadvantage in Britain, drawing on up-to-date sources. It goes further than texts that merely describe ethnic inequalities to explore and explain their dynamic nature. The book suggests that the increasing diversity of experience among different ethnic groups is a key to understanding continuing and emerging tensions and conflicts. It provides up-to-date data and analysis of ethnic diversity and changing patterns of disadvantage in Britain; covers key areas of social life, including demographic trends, education, employment, housing, health, gender, and policing and community disorder; is written by experts in the field; and addresses issues of urgent public importance in the context of recent community disorder and the resurgence of the far right.

The eviction at Dale Farm in the UK in 2011 brought the conflicting issues relating to Gypsy and Traveller accommodation to the attention of the world's media. However, as the furore surrounding the eviction has died down, the very pressing issues of accommodation need, inequality of access to education, healthcare and employment, and exclusion from British (and European) society is still very much evident. This topical book examines and debates a range of themes facing Gypsies and Travellers in British Society, including health, social policy, employment and education. It also looks at the dilemmas faced in representing disadvantaged minority groups in media and political discourse, theories on power, control and justice and the impact of European initiatives on inclusion. Gypsies and Travellers: Empowerment and inclusion in British Society will be of interest to students, academics, policy makers, practitioners, those working in the media, police, education and health services, and of course to Gypsies and Travellers themselves.

This book examines British Islamophobia both in the cyber and physical world. Drawing from qualitative data elicited through a national UK-based study, this text considers the online and offline experiences of ‘visible’ Muslim men and women as victims of Islamophobia and the impacts of these attacks upon victims, their families and wider communities. Key themes that emerge from the research findings include ‘trigger’ events of local, national and international significance. Accordingly, terrorist attacks carried out by individuals who identify themselves as being Muslim or acting in the name of Islam – such as the Woolwich attack, the atrocities committed by ISIS and attacks around the world such as Sydney, the Charlie Hebdo and Bataclan attacks in Paris, as well as attacks in Copenhagen and Tunisia – increase Muslims’ vulnerability to Islamophobic attacks, both online and offline. The book highlights the multidimensional nature of Islamophobia, and recognises the fact that there is a relationship between online and offline Islamophobic attacks, especially in the globalised world. The Short concludes with recommendations for preventing and responding to Islamophobia, both online and offline.

Obama and the Biracial Factor is the first book to explore the significance of mixed-race identity as a key factor in the election of President Obama and examines the sociological and political relationship between race, power, and public policy in the United States with an emphasis on public discourse and ethnic representation in his election. The book introduces new key concepts such as mixed race hegemony and critical mixed race pedagogy to assert the salience of mixed-race identity in U.S. policy and the on-going impact of the media and popular culture on the development, implementation, and interpretation of government policy and ethnic relations in the U.S. and globally. A fundamental argument throughout is that changing U.S. population demographics coupled with emerging ideologies of multiraciality are leading to the emergence of a new, more diverse and inclusive American majority.

This book draws together a range of writers to consider aspects of ‘race’, racism and contemporary social work. It considers the development of anti-racist social work theory and practice within the shifting terrain of the politics of ‘race’ within modern Britain. Included in the collection are chapters looking at developments within anti-racist social work theory and practice, including discussion of the impact of neo-liberalism on black and Asian communities, the strengths and problems associated with notions of ‘cultural competencies’, the development of an analysis of ‘xeno-racism’ and considerations of the role of black and Asian workers as ‘catalysers’ of change. Significantly for a text on anti-racist social work and there are chapters on anti-Semitism, anti-Roma racism and Islamophobia. Further chapters include discussion of asylum-seeking young people, debates around the politics of ‘street-grooming’, a qualified defence of ‘multiculturalism, an analysis of the impact of austerity measures on services for minority communities, a policy analysis of the implications of the ‘Prevent’ counter-terrorism strategy and its implications for welfare workers, and an analysis of the role of migrant workers within the social care sector. Collectively the book opens up significant areas of debate and analysis within social work that students, practitioners and researchers need to fully engage with. It intends to act as a stimulus for further research and debate in this important area of social work theory and practice.

In the context of renewed debates about diversity and cohesion, this book interrogates contemporary claims about race and migration. It demonstrates that many of the claims are myths, presenting evidence in support of and in opposition to them in an accessible yet academically rigorous manner. The book tackles head-on questions about levels of immigration, the contribution of immigrants, minority self-segregation, ghettoisation and the future diversity of the population. The authors argue that the myths of race and migration are the real threat to an integrated society and recommend that focus should return to problems of inequality and prejudice.

This book introduces the worlds of young black men dealing cannabis at a drug scene called The River in Oslo, Norway. The lives of these men are structured by a huge and complex cannabis economy and they are involved in fights, robberies, and substance abuse. They lack jobs and education, and many of them do not have family or close friends, yet they do have ‘street capital’: the knowledge, skills, and competence necessary to manage life on the streets. Centred on this concept of ‘street capital’, this book presents a new theoretical framework – inspired by and expanding on the work of Pierre Bourdieu, the French sociologist – for understanding street cultures. It is based on extensive fieldwork and repeated in-depth interviews with dealers aged between 15 and 30, which explore themes including marginalisation, discrimination, cannabis dealing and drug use, violence, masculinity, hip-hop culture, experiences with the welfare system, and issues of immigration and racism. The book also analyses the discursive practice of marginalised people on the street and identifies the narratives by which these young men live.