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ID: 118231

British muslim political participation: after Bradford / Akhtar, Parveen

Akhtar, Parveen	Journal Article
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2012.

Summary/Abstract

In this article I argue that there is a significant generational shift within British Pakistani communities in relation to political participation and civic engagement. Using George Galloway's March 2012 by-election victory in Bradford West and an analysis of primary empirical research conducted amongst British Pakistani communities between 2005-2007, and, 2011, I argue that kinship-based bloc voting-a feature of British Pakistani political engagement in UK politics-is being challenged. A younger generation of British Pakistanis want politicians to engage with them as individuals rather than politicians assuming their votes through co-opting Pakistani community elders in a system of patronage politics, an arrangement which has been in place since mass immigration from the subcontinent in the 1950s and 60s.

Key Words

Political Participation ; Biraderi ; British Muslims ; British Pakistanis ; Bradford West ; George Galloway

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ID: 143650

From myth of return to return fantasy: a psychosocial interpretation of migration imaginaries / Bolognani, Marta

Bolognani, Marta	Article
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Summary/Abstract

By referring to the myth of return, migration literature has focused mainly on sociopolitical explanations, neglecting intersubjective dynamics. This paper operates a switch from myth of return to fantasy. This allows the analysis to be detached from the return speculation’s outcome. It also recognises the cross-generational endurance of return-thinking as functional to the process of identity-building as part of a migrant’s search for well-being. Three British Pakistani migration stories will illustrate how return fantasies are not necessarily a symptom of disengagement with the host society, but are part of a common way human beings have to imagine possible futures for themselves and make sense of their present. Fantasies have the potential to create a virtual transitional space where the individual can re-elaborate experiences in a mode that is safer than the one of reality and may have a positive effect on normalising one’s migration experience.

Key Words

British Pakistanis ; Myth of Return ; Return Fantasy ; Psychoanalytically Informed Methods ; Transitional Space

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