Identity Making for Action: The Example of London Citizens

Abstract

In recent years there has been growing moral panic about alienation in our inner city communities. Such places are argued to be less engaged in the democratic polity than they were in the past while simultaneously being fractured by widening divides between people and groups. Exemplified by the increasing numbers of young men being stabbed to death on the streets of London, our inner city communities are popularly understood as politically disenfranchised and turning in on themselves. In response, there have been a plethora of new ideas from Government and beyond to re-enchant citizens with the political process and to heal the divisions within. In this context, however, we need to know more about the relations between identity and civic engagement. We need to know how people come to identify with each other and how they might be mobilised and supported to act. In order to explore these issues, this chapter looks at one example in detail. I explore the work of a broad-based community alliance called London Citizens that connects a wide range of different community-based organisations and seeks to engage their members in political action over common concerns.