Understanding National Identity - Softcover

Mccrone, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1107496195 ISBN 13: 9781107496194

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2015

Synopsis

We live in a world in which being a 'citizen' of a state and being a 'national' are by no means the same. Amidst much scholarly debate about 'nations' and 'nationalism', comparatively little has been written explicitly on 'national identity' and a great deal less is solidly evidence-based. This book focuses on national identity in England and Scotland. Using data collected over twenty years it asks: does national identity really matter to people? How does 'national identity' differ from 'nationality' and having a passport? Are there particular people and places which have ambiguous or contested national identities? What happens if someone makes a claim to a national identity? On what basis do others accept or reject the claim? Does national identity have much internal substance, or is it simply about defending group boundaries? How does national identity relate to politics and constitutional change?

About this title

Review:

'This is clearly the best book ever written on national identity. The authors have worked together for a quarter of a century, and have become very sophisticated analysts, imaginatively using varied methodological tools with exemplary subtlety. The research goes deep, well beyond the daily headlines, and we meet real human beings and come to understand their concerns.' John A. Hall, James McGill Professor of Comparative Historical Sociology, McGill University, Montréal

'National identity as opposed to the ideologically driven politics of nationalism or an apolitical patriotism is one of the more recent identity-politics themes. This fine book firmly puts it on the sociological map.' Tariq Modood, Director, University of Bristol Research Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship

Book Description:

Have people become more English and more Scottish? Has the sense of being 'British' declined? Who is seen or accepted as a Scot or as English? On what basis do people make these judgements? This book uses empirical material to enable readers to understand behaviours and attitudes relating to 'national identity'.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1107496195
• ISBN 13: 9781107496194
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 238