Seeking voices

: the role of grassroots youth work in Preventing / Countering Violent Extremism in the UK

Abstract

This study analyses the role of youth work in efforts to Prevent/Counter Violent Extremism (P/CVE) in the UK, in order to shed light on the complex relationship between P/CVE policies and pre-existing youth work practices, traditions and knowledge. Most of the academic research on P/CVE and counter-terrorism in the UK has examined the effects of Prevent policy on front-line professional services such as youth work, education and health care, particularly focusing on the security-framed interventions disproportionately targeting ethnic and religious minorities. However, there has been less attention on P/CVE work that goes beyond Prevent policy. I address this gap in the literature by drawing from first-hand experiences of youth workers and practitioners belonging to organisations funded through different pathways – Prevent, hybrid and independent funding sources – to analyse their strategies and resources in navigating a polarised P/CVE field. Furthermore, the analytic focus of this study on security governance contributes to the literature on P/CVE, Governance and Policy studies that has expanded the understanding of Prevent policy implementation in the front-line beyond binary tensions between policy design (top-down) and front-line agency (bottom-up). This study therefore provides a detailed picture of P/CVE youth work, with a specific focus on the agency of youth workers/practitioners in their delivery of P/CVE policy, based on their wider expertise in supporting youth in their local communities.

Date of Award	28 Sept 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bristol
Supervisor	Tariq Modood (Supervisor) & Therese O'Toole (Supervisor)