National Identity Nationalism And Constitutional Change

What does it mean to say you're English, Scottish, British? Does it matter much to people? Has devolution and constitutional change made a difference to national identity? Does the future of the UK depend on whether or not people think they are British? Social and political scientists answer these questions vital to the future of the British state.

This book presents the remarkable constitutional reforms undertaken by the Blair and Brown governments in the UK. The reforms are remarkable in that they had the potential to change the way Britons understood the national identity of the UK. The book illuminates the ambitions of the key players in Whitehall and Westminster and is enriched through a study of comparable constitutional reforms in Canada and Australia: the Charter of Rights and Freedoms pioneered by Pierre Trudeau and the attempt by Paul Keating to make Australia a Republic. The Canadian and Australian chapters are a contribution to the political history of those nations and a device for understanding the changes in Britain. The author is an expert in the use of Freedom of Information and was a senior policy maker in Whitehall working primarily on constitutional reform. Readers will benefit from the author's unrivalled access to interviewees and documentary sources in the three countries covered in the book.

Investigates the concept of 'national identity' based on twenty years of empirical evidence.

In September of 1997 Scots voted overwhelmingly for the establishment of a modern democratic parliament - their first parliament in almost three hundred years. How did this remarkable constitutional change come about? Jonathan Hearn explores this question by examining how claims for greater political autonomy in Scotland today draw on deeper cultural traditions of political thought and action. Scotland's civic nationalism voices a moral critique of neoliberalism and a communitarian defence of the idea of the welfare state, grounding these in Scottish culture and identity. By placing this movement and its language in their institutional, historical and cultural contexts, this powerful book challenges the conventional distinctions between liberalism and nationalism, and between civic and ethnic forms of nationalism, by arguing for a more nuanced way of thinking about processes of culture, identity and politics. Key Features*An anthropological perspective on Scottish nationalism*An ethnographic, highly readable presentation of the subject*A synthetic treatment of nationalism and liberalism*An in-depth critique of the ethnic/civic dichotomy in nationalism studies

The book shows how national days are best understood in the context of debates about national identity. It argues that national days are contested and manipulated, as well as subject to political, cultural and social pressure. It brings together some of the most recent research on national days and sets it in a comparative context.

Ever since Crevecoeur formulated his famous question, Americans have asked themselves: "What, then, is the American, this new man?", and even more urgently so once it became predictable that the traditionally majoritarian position of Anglo-Americans will dissolve in a sea of multi-ethnicity. What constitutes an American nation and produces collective identity among an extremely heterogeneous population? This comparative issue is addressed by sociologist Liah Greenfeld in her introductory essay. Other essays contributed by historians and political scientists from the U.S., England, and Germany discuss historical developments and phenomena which have led to regional or group-specific identities which, in complex ways, contribute to, and interact with American national identity and nationalism.

"Nationalism in Stateless Nations" explores national identities and nationalist movements since 1967, using the examples of Scotland and Newfoundland. Adding to the debate about globalisation and the future of the nation-state, the book argues that ethnically rooted nationalism in modern liberal democracies need not, as argued by theories of 'classic' nationalist movements, strive for full independence. In fact, nationalist movements are adapting to circumstances by becoming autonomist rather than separatist, pragmatic rather than dogmatic, and the book illustrates how Scotland and Newfoundland, both previously independent countries, are excellent examples of this. Building on theories of national identity-formation and nationalism, it traces the development of cultural and political nationalism, and changing images of the national self. With a focus on important fomenting factors and actors - intellectuals, political parties and the media - the book combines historical, sociological, political and media studies analyses in an interdisciplinary investigation, providing a comprehensive account of the waxing and waning of nationalism.