Yes / Consanguineous marriage is a controversial topic in many Western societies, with attention mainly focused on the health of immigrant communities from Asia and Africa. In the UK consanguinity is especially prevalent in the Pakistani community which now numbers over 1.1 million. Less attention has been paid to the influence of hereditary population stratification within Pakistani communities. In particular, biraderi (literally brotherhood) membership which denotes male lineages that largely govern marriage partner choice and hence the transmission of disease genes. The various roles played by biraderi and their relationship to other socio-occupational and kinship terms, such as caste, quom and zat, are often overlooked in health-based studies. The interchangeable use of these different kinship terms without rigorous definition can create identity uncertainty and hinders inter-study comparisons. Where feasible, standardization of terminology would be both desirable and beneficial, with biraderi the preferred default term to identify specific social and genetic relationships within the Pakistani diaspora.

No / This article Contributes to theoretical debates on minority political participation in the UK, with specific reference to inter-generational variations within the South Asian Muslim community; Contributes to the scholarly literature on the impact and effectiveness of new political parties within the British political system, through a case study of the Respect Party; Adds to empirical primary data on strategies adopted by political parties in courting specific sections of the ethnic minority vote in the UK; Offers an empirically-led demonstration of the changes taking place within the political sphere of South Asian Muslim diasporas in Britain. In March 2012, the Respect Party won an unexpected by-election in the British city of Bradford, previously regarded as a safe Labour seat. This article examines the party's campaign strategy and in particular how it courted South Asian Muslim voters. A dominant feature of South Asian Muslim politics in the UK has been community bloc voting along lines of kinship (biraderi). The use of kinship networks for political gain effectively disenfranchised many young people and women. We demonstrate how Respect used their experience of campaigning in constituencies with significant numbers of South Asian Muslim voters to achieve an unlikely victory in Bradford. A key strategy was to mobilise otherwise politically marginalised sections of the South Asian Muslim community by offering an alternative to the culture of patronage in Bradford whilst at the same time utilising certain community structures in order to gain their own bloc votes.

The role of biraderi kinship networks has recently gained attention in U.K. elections. Biraderis are patriarchal and hierarchical kinship networks that are led by male elders and originate from Pakistan and Bangladesh. These networks have been accused of influencing selections and elections through bloc votes. Existing research into the actions and implications of biraderi in U.K. politics has examined these networks in isolation. To further understand and contextualise the actions and implications of biraderi networks in U.K. politics, I compare them to trade union networks. Trade unions are paid membership networks in which groups of employees take collective action to maintain and improve employment conditions. Using my two case studies, I focus on the Labour Party and ask two questions. Firstly, what are the implications of network influence for electoral choice? Secondly, are the actions of biraderi networks, and the implications of these actions, different to other networks? And if so, why? I use a combination of qualitative and quantitative data in the process of this inquiry. In chapter three, I use the analysis of 37 interviews with political and community activists to introduce biraderi networks and present their role in the selection and election of political representatives. In chapter four I use the same data to contextualise the role of biraderi and examine the relationship between biraderi networks and the Labour Party. In chapter five, I introduce trade union networks and use the analysis of 16 interviews with MPs, political activists and trade unionists to outline three aspects of the role that trade unions take in the selection and election processes: the legitimate aspect, the controversial aspect and the idealised aspect. In chapter six, the final empirical chapter, I ask which candidates receive support from trade unions. I build upon an existing dataset to analyse financial and in-kind trade union donations to the Labour Party. I find that biraderi and trade union networks both, to some extent, carry out five actions in the selection and election of political representatives: providing political education; providing financial and in-kind support; providing campaigners in selections and elections; selecting candidates; supporting the under-represented. I find that the implications of these five actions for voter choice are two-fold. On the one hand, networks can increase voter choice by providing political education and support to candidates who might not otherwise be able to stand for election. On the other hand, I find that networks can reduce electoral choice. Through a combination of legal and illegal actions, when elders control votes biraderi networks can at best restrict electoral choice and at worst remove it entirely. Although these networks carry out the same five actions, I do find that they differ in the way that they carry out some of these actions. I ague that there are three reasons for this: differing network structures; differing network motivations; and access to different resources to influence selections and elections. I argue that networks are motivated to influence selections and elections by instrumental desires to increase their political influence and power as well as ideological motivations to support the party. I find that political parties need networks to help to campaign and deliver political education. Networks can work alongside parties to do this but they can also takeover as political parties abdicate their responsibilities, effectively becoming the party on the ground in a constituency.

This thesis deals with the role of sponsorship and patronage in the process of migration and in the formation of Biraderi based relationships and various sociological questions posed in the local context within which ethnicity is a defining element. For example, it demonstrates how far Rochdale Pakistanis as an ethnic group are maintaining their culture in Britain; in particular, how kinship and friendship networks determine the dominant pattern of social interaction among Pakistanis. Further, it deals with the extent to which these networks help and facilitate the immigration and settlement of Pakistanis in this country and result in their "incapsulation" within the wider society. The analysis of these issues was. conducted at different levels: at the individual (case studies) and interactional level, at the social situations and community level and at the level of the wider society's institutions and structures. This included a consideration of the activities of the local Pakistani community in terms of their kinship networks, their economic"activites political participation, religious institutions, community leadership and ethnic organisations. It also includes an analysis of the actors in these different fields, highlighting each area of activity that led to the incapsulation of Pakistanis. It was found that the Pakistani community tends to be mobilized on ethnic lines. This mobilization, it seems, reinforces their ethnic identity and results in their unity, especially when threatened by hostile "out-groups". I The analysis strongly suggests that the whole complex of ethnic institutions manifests the Pakistani community's wish to express and, at the same time, perpetuate their traditional values, beliefs and culture, although this varies to some extent according to occupational background, educational level and generational differences.

This thesis deals with the role of sponsorship and patronage in the process of migration and in the formation of Biraderi based relationships and various sociological questions posed in the local context within which ethnicity is a defining element. For example, it demonstrates how far Rochdale Pakistanis as an ethnic group are maintaining their culture in Britain; in particular, how kinship and friendship networks determine the dominant pattern of social interaction among Pakistanis. Further, it deals with the extent to which these networks help and facilitate the immigration and settlement of Pakistanis in this country and result in their "incapsulation" within the wider society. The analysis of these issues was. conducted at different levels: at the individual (case studies) and interactional level, at the social situations and community level and at the level of the wider society's institutions and structures. This included a consideration of the activities of the local Pakistani community in terms of their kinship networks, their economic"activites political participation, religious institutions, community leadership and ethnic organisations. It also includes an analysis of the actors in these different fields, highlighting each area of activity that led to the incapsulation of Pakistanis. It was found that the Pakistani community tends to be mobilized on ethnic lines. This mobilization, it seems, reinforces their ethnic identity and results in their unity, especially when threatened by hostile "out-groups". I The analysis strongly suggests that the whole complex of ethnic institutions manifests the Pakistani community's wish to express and, at the same time, perpetuate their traditional values, beliefs and culture, although this varies to some extent according to occupational background, educational level and generational differences.