Preventive Social Work and Collective Transformative Agency: Preventing Riots in the Wake of Rasmus Paludan’s Burning of the Quran

TY - CHAP

T1 - Preventive Social Work and Collective Transformative Agency

T2 - Preventing Riots in the Wake of Rasmus Paludan’s Burning of the Quran

AU - Mørck, Line Lerche

AU - Adnan Aiche , Wael

PY - 2024/6

Y1 - 2024/6

N2 - This chapter explores how a highly diverse range of parties, including street-level social workers, police officers, children, young people, mothers, fathers, the local Imam, and gang members engage in efforts to prevent violence on the streets of Nørrebro, a previously working-class neighborhood in Copenhagen. During the last two decades, Nørrebro has transformed into a youthful multi-ethnic area while maintaining its historically strong tradition for political and social organizations and movements. This tradition was recently reignited when Rasmus Paludan, the leader of an extremist right-wing political party, announced his arrival at a central square in Nørrebro called Blågårds Plads. Paludan has toured socially disadvantaged residential areas, both in Denmark and abroad, burning the Quran in what he claims is a political manifestation. Based on a decentered mo(ve)ment analysis, this paper explores preventive street-level social work in this highly conflictual situation and investigates collective, transformative agency and counter-hegemonic struggles among and across the many different parties involved in the collective preventive actions linked to Paludan’s manifestation. We see how these counter-hegemonic struggles change over time: from riots in the street to various forms of peaceful, democratic collective agency, where some of the fathers whose family members were convicted collect signatures from local residents to avoid whole families getting thrown out / evicted from their homes.

AB - This chapter explores how a highly diverse range of parties, including street-level social workers, police officers, children, young people, mothers, fathers, the local Imam, and gang members engage in efforts to prevent violence on the streets of Nørrebro, a previously working-class neighborhood in Copenhagen. During the last two decades, Nørrebro has transformed into a youthful multi-ethnic area while maintaining its historically strong tradition for political and social organizations and movements. This tradition was recently reignited when Rasmus Paludan, the leader of an extremist right-wing political party, announced his arrival at a central square in Nørrebro called Blågårds Plads. Paludan has toured socially disadvantaged residential areas, both in Denmark and abroad, burning the Quran in what he claims is a political manifestation. Based on a decentered mo(ve)ment analysis, this paper explores preventive street-level social work in this highly conflictual situation and investigates collective, transformative agency and counter-hegemonic struggles among and across the many different parties involved in the collective preventive actions linked to Paludan’s manifestation. We see how these counter-hegemonic struggles change over time: from riots in the street to various forms of peaceful, democratic collective agency, where some of the fathers whose family members were convicted collect signatures from local residents to avoid whole families getting thrown out / evicted from their homes.

KW - riots

KW - Hatespeach

KW - double binds

KW - transformative agency

KW - holistic prevention

KW - Socialpædagogik

KW - Samfund/samtid

M3 - Book chapter

SN - 978-1-7936-3285-2

SP - 187

EP - 206

BT - Violent extremism

PB - Lexington Books

CY - Lanham

ER -