Community, Conflict and the State

Cooper analyzes how notions of “community,” “conflict,” “dangerousness” and “safety” have been used and understood in British social policy. By offering a conceptually grounded treatment of these themes, the book seeks to encourage the reader to reflect on the practical policy-oriented application of these ideas under New Labour, particularly in relation to “community safety.” The final chapter concludes by revisiting theses four core notions, and in doing so, seeks to expose the myths and contradictions that commonly accompany broad-range concepts of this nature.

Introduction * Community Conflict and the State: The Historical Context * Notions of Community and Conflict * Approaches to Involving and Evaluating Community Involvement in Practice * Community Policies and New Labour * A Manifesto for Community Well-Being * Conclusions