Book review: Michael Kenny, The Politics of English Nationhood (original) (raw)

2017, Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism

AI-generated Abstract

Michael Kenny's "The Politics of English Nationhood" examines contemporary English national identity, analyzing its cultural dimensions and political implications in the context of evolving nationalisms within Great Britain. The book underscores the flexibility of Englishness, challenging the notion that it is merely a reaction to the rise of other national identities, and highlights an increasing identification with Englishness among younger ethnic minorities. Despite certain historical contingencies, Kenny's work provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the dynamics of English nationalism in relation to political party landscapes and changing societal attitudes.

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Chapter 6 Nationhood and Muslims in Britain

2015

1 Scholars typically begin a chronology of the contemporary 'British question' by making reference to Tom Nairn's (1997) The Break-Up of Britain. Nairn of course was a Marxist critic who offered more of a challenge to the idea of the union than an analysis of its condition. For our purposes the debate really commences in the early 1990s and is neatly summarised by the late Bernard Crick's (1995: 168) observation, from the middle of that decade, of how: '…for the first time anyone can remember in a people who have taken themselves so much for granted, have been widely envied for their psychological security, an anxious debate has broken out about national identity'. The difference between Great Britain and the United Kingdom can be confusing. Politically, Great Britain brings together the three 'home nations' of England, Scotland and Wales, as well as a number of islands off the coasts of England, Scotland and Wales (e.g., the Isle of Wight, Anglesey, the Isles of Scilly, the Hebrides, and the island groups of Orkney and Shetland). The United Kingdom, meanwhile, includes all of these as well as Northern Ireland. Territories that have further autonomy from both Great Britain and the United Kingdom include the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands which have distinct legislative and taxation systems. The derivation of the term Great Britain predates the British Empire, and is a consequence of distinguishing the British mainland from 'Lesser Britain' which approximates to modern Brittany in France.

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