Book Review: K. Harris (ed.), Respect in the Neighbourhood: Why Neighbourliness Matters, Russell House Publishing, Lyme Regis, £18.95 Pb, ISBN 978—1-905541—02—7
| Date | 01 August 2008 |
| Author | Janet Jamieson |
| DOI | 10.1177/1473225408091379 |
| Published date | 01 August 2008 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
B O O K R E V I E W S
Copyright © 2008 The National Association for Youth Justice
Published by SAGE Publications (Los Angeles, London, New Delhi and Singapore)
www.sagepublications.com
ISSN 1473–2254, Vol 8(2): 178–183
DOI: 10.1177/1473225408091379
Book Reviews
K. Harris (ed.), Respect in the Neighbourhood: Why Neighbourliness Matters,
Russell House Publishing, Lyme Regis, £18.95 Pb, ISBN 978–1-905541–02–7.
Reviewed by: Dr Janet Jamieson, School of Social Science, Liverpool John Moores
University, UK.
Respect in the Neighbourhood comprises an eclectic range of contributions that combine to highlight
that the key weakness of the UK government’s ‘Respect Agenda’ is a lack of understanding of
neighbourhood and neighbourliness. However, it would be misleading to think that this volume
comprises a direct and sustained critique of the ‘Respect Taskforce’, rather in drawing on a range
of UK and international literature it seeks to explore the everyday lived experience of neighbour-
hood life, the challenges it poses and the types of strategies that might be effectively employed to
encourage the much valorised concept of informal social control. In so doing, the aim is to broaden
the parameters of the ‘respect’ discourse ‘beyond the current media frenzy regarding anti-social
behaviour’ (p. x).
The contributions in the volume address pertinent and inter-related themes regarding the nature
of, and infl uences upon, contemporary neighbourhood life. Chapters 1 and 8 most transparently
address the ‘Respect’ agenda and its overwhelming focus on responsibilizing individuals, parents
and communities. The fi rst chapter, by Kevin Harris, refl ects upon the increasingly individualized,
privatized and commercialized nature of social interactions in contemporary societies, arguing
that the associated loss of civility has been translated as a crisis of civil and pro-social behaviour.
While arguing that top-down approaches to promote ‘respect’ may be necessary, he...
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