John Holmwood and Therese O'Toole
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781447344131
- eISBN:
- 9781447344179
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447344131.001.0001
- Subject:
- Education, Educational Policy and Politics
In 2014 the UK government launched an investigation into the “Trojan Horse” affair: an alleged plot to “Islamify” several state schools in Birmingham. Twenty-one schools in Birmingham were subjected ...
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In 2014 the UK government launched an investigation into the “Trojan Horse” affair: an alleged plot to “Islamify” several state schools in Birmingham. Twenty-one schools in Birmingham were subjected to snap Ofsted inspections and included in the various inquiries into the affair. The book's authors — one who was an expert witness in the professional misconduct cases brought against the teachers in the school, and the other, who researches the government's counter-extremism agenda — challenge the accepted narrative, arguing that a major injustice was inflicted on the teachers, and they go on to show how the affair was used to criticize multiculturalism and justify the expansion of a broad and intrusive counter-extremism agenda. The government cites the 'plot' in its argument about the need to develop a new counter-extremism strategy that confronts extremist ideology and not just threats of violence. However, the Kershaw Report and some other commentators argue that there was, in fact, no evidence of extremism.Less
In 2014 the UK government launched an investigation into the “Trojan Horse” affair: an alleged plot to “Islamify” several state schools in Birmingham. Twenty-one schools in Birmingham were subjected to snap Ofsted inspections and included in the various inquiries into the affair. The book's authors — one who was an expert witness in the professional misconduct cases brought against the teachers in the school, and the other, who researches the government's counter-extremism agenda — challenge the accepted narrative, arguing that a major injustice was inflicted on the teachers, and they go on to show how the affair was used to criticize multiculturalism and justify the expansion of a broad and intrusive counter-extremism agenda. The government cites the 'plot' in its argument about the need to develop a new counter-extremism strategy that confronts extremist ideology and not just threats of violence. However, the Kershaw Report and some other commentators argue that there was, in fact, no evidence of extremism.
John Holmwood and Therese O’Toole
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781447344131
- eISBN:
- 9781447344179
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447344131.003.0001
- Subject:
- Education, Educational Policy and Politics
This introductory chapter provides an overview on the events in Birmingham that came to the public attention in March 2014 involving an alleged plot by conservative and hardline Sunnis to Islamicise ...
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This introductory chapter provides an overview on the events in Birmingham that came to the public attention in March 2014 involving an alleged plot by conservative and hardline Sunnis to Islamicise a number of state-funded schools where there were significant numbers of Muslim pupils. Attention was focused on one particular school, Park View Academy, and its associated Park View Educational Trust (PVET), incorporating two other schools, Nansen Primary and Golden Hillock secondary. The affair also drew in many others who were suspected of extremist activity — with 21 schools in Birmingham subjected to snap Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) inspections and included in the various inquiries into the affair. The government cites the 'plot' in its argument about the need to develop a new counter-extremism strategy that confronts extremist ideology and not just threats of violence. However, the Kershaw Report and some other commentators argue that there was, in fact, no evidence of extremism.Less
This introductory chapter provides an overview on the events in Birmingham that came to the public attention in March 2014 involving an alleged plot by conservative and hardline Sunnis to Islamicise a number of state-funded schools where there were significant numbers of Muslim pupils. Attention was focused on one particular school, Park View Academy, and its associated Park View Educational Trust (PVET), incorporating two other schools, Nansen Primary and Golden Hillock secondary. The affair also drew in many others who were suspected of extremist activity — with 21 schools in Birmingham subjected to snap Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) inspections and included in the various inquiries into the affair. The government cites the 'plot' in its argument about the need to develop a new counter-extremism strategy that confronts extremist ideology and not just threats of violence. However, the Kershaw Report and some other commentators argue that there was, in fact, no evidence of extremism.
John Holmwood and Therese O’Toole
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781447344131
- eISBN:
- 9781447344179
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447344131.003.0002
- Subject:
- Education, Educational Policy and Politics
This chapter discusses the importance of promoting ‘British values’. The Trojan Horse affair has shaped subsequent debates on community cohesion and the counter-extremism agenda, but it was, in its ...
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This chapter discusses the importance of promoting ‘British values’. The Trojan Horse affair has shaped subsequent debates on community cohesion and the counter-extremism agenda, but it was, in its turn, shaped by preceding events. These earlier events — urban disturbances, claims that communities are self-segregating, perceived threats of terrorism, and specific acts of terrorism themselves — have produced a variety of political interventions. These have included policies designed to mitigate what were understood to be problems of community cohesion, threatening the social fabric and security. The interventions helped to create the narratives that were drawn upon in interpretations of the Trojan Horse affair, just as the latter has been taken as evidence of the veracity of those concerns and as a motivation for further interventions.Less
This chapter discusses the importance of promoting ‘British values’. The Trojan Horse affair has shaped subsequent debates on community cohesion and the counter-extremism agenda, but it was, in its turn, shaped by preceding events. These earlier events — urban disturbances, claims that communities are self-segregating, perceived threats of terrorism, and specific acts of terrorism themselves — have produced a variety of political interventions. These have included policies designed to mitigate what were understood to be problems of community cohesion, threatening the social fabric and security. The interventions helped to create the narratives that were drawn upon in interpretations of the Trojan Horse affair, just as the latter has been taken as evidence of the veracity of those concerns and as a motivation for further interventions.
Robert Muggah and Chris O’donnell
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780198757276
- eISBN:
- 9780191817212
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198757276.003.0008
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental, Public and Welfare
This chapter highlights the changes in the scope and scale of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) of former combatants over the past thirty years and explores the likely trajectories ...
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This chapter highlights the changes in the scope and scale of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) of former combatants over the past thirty years and explores the likely trajectories of DDR in the twenty-first century. Over the past two decades the expectations of what DDR should achieve have dramatically expanded. It is not only a regular feature of conventional UN-mandated peace-support interventions, but also increasingly a component of counter-insurgency, stabilization, crime prevention, and counter-extremist operations. In the process, DDR has transformed from a carefully sequenced and discrete set of activities mandated by a peace agreement to an ever-widening array of security and development measures that can include the negotiation and implementation of the terms of peace. These changes in the policy and practice of DDR are precipitated by a transformation in the dynamics of organized violence around the world and the corresponding exigencies of diplomatic, defence, and development experts.Less
This chapter highlights the changes in the scope and scale of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) of former combatants over the past thirty years and explores the likely trajectories of DDR in the twenty-first century. Over the past two decades the expectations of what DDR should achieve have dramatically expanded. It is not only a regular feature of conventional UN-mandated peace-support interventions, but also increasingly a component of counter-insurgency, stabilization, crime prevention, and counter-extremist operations. In the process, DDR has transformed from a carefully sequenced and discrete set of activities mandated by a peace agreement to an ever-widening array of security and development measures that can include the negotiation and implementation of the terms of peace. These changes in the policy and practice of DDR are precipitated by a transformation in the dynamics of organized violence around the world and the corresponding exigencies of diplomatic, defence, and development experts.
