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Blends discussion of race, ethnicity, and difference with debates on social exclusion and inclusion. This text addresses the major problems societies face around the world and is suitable for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students in sociology, social policy, politics, and social welfare.

This paper interrogates a concept at the core of a social policy agenda that has dominated thinking in the UK over the past decade. It argues that the notion of 'community cohesion' is based on a fundamentally flawed interpretation of the sources of tension and conflict in Britain's towns and cities. It overly ethnicizes societal divisions and essentializes ethnicity. Examining the development of government policy since 2001 the paper shows that the result has been a predominantly culturalist agenda that obscures key sources of division, most notably those related to social class and material inequality. It is argued that the hegemonic status of this policy stream has also undermined the equalities agenda. The paper concludes with a reflection on the implications of the emergence of a Conservative-led coalition government in May 2010.

This text makes a forthright case for a shift in policy focus from 'community cohesion' to the broader notion of social cohesion, and is distinctive and innovative in its focus on evaluation.

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Preface -- Notes on the Contributors -- Part I Towards a Sociology of the Sociology of 'Race', Ethnicity and Nation -- 1 Sociology, the State and Social Change: Theoretical Considerations -- Inequality, exclusion and conflict: the problem stated -- The role of sociology and sociologists -- The identity of sociologists: the salience of 'race'/ethnicity gender and class differences? -- Sociology the state and social change: some key terms defined -- The role of case studies -- References -- 2 The Colour Line and Sociology -- Introduction -- Walls of exclusion and silence: Du Bois and Mydral -- Politics of whiteness, sociology and scholarship in the 1980s -- Public policy and black voices: checkerboard politics -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Part II Non-European Societies: Histories Rooted in Slavery, Apartheid and Genocide -- 3 Whatever Tomorrow Brings: African-American Families and Government Social Policy -- The history of family policy in the United States -- Black family and national social policy: theoretical and substantive issues -- Theory and method in the study of black families -- Omissions in black family studies and their consequences for social policy -- Black families: protectors of the realm -- Summary, conclusions and implications -- References -- 4 The Racialization of Social Scientific Research on South Africa -- The mainstream network -- Unanswered questions -- Constraints on understanding -- The way forward -- Notes -- References -- 5 Independence, Incorporation and Policy Research: an Australian Case Study -- The institutional and social context to research on migration and ethnic relations -- The structure and operation of the Bureau of Immigration Research -- The research role of the bureau -- Research after the bureau -- Conclusion -- Notes -- References.