Breaking up Britain: four nations after a Union

Abstract

May 2009 will be the tenth anniversary of the first elections to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. This was the beginning of a decade of change - which now includes the restoration of powers to Stormont - that is showing every sign of being an irreversible process. Breaking Up Britain is a unique collection of English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish contributors, featuring key political activists from the nationalist parties, commentators and campaigners, academics and journalists. Each writer explores the change that the break-up demands in their own nation, but also discusses its impact upon the whole. This dialog of differences is essential reading for anyone interested in the shape of politics and culture after a Union. CONTENTS Mark Perryman: Introduction POST-DEVOLUTION NATIONAL IDENTITY John Harris: A Patchwork Nation Kevin Williamson: Culture and the homecoming of Scottishness Charlotte Williams: Melting Pots and the British meltdown Arthur Aughey: Wild Catastrophism to Mild Moderation in Northern Ireland MODELS OF CIVIC NATIONALISM Leanne Wood: Greening the Welsh Dragon Salma Yaqoob: Second City Limits Eoin O'Broin: Over the Wall: Towards the Ending of Sectarianism Richard Thomson: The Social Relations of Scottish Nationalism FORMATIONS OF EXCLUSION Vron Ware: The Ins and Outs of Anglo-Saxonism and the Future of White Decline Inez McCormack: Piecing together the Peace Process Gregor Gall: Unions without the Union Mike Parker: Independence? That's When Good Neighbours Become Good Friends STATES OF INDEPENDENCE Lesley Riddoch: Tartanspotting and the Contradictions of Being Scots Michael Kenny: The Best Part of Breaking Up Peadar Kirby: Prospects for Ireland's Celtic Tiger John Osmond: Independence in an Interdependent Europe