Product Details
- Publisher: Verso (2021-06-22)
- Language: English
- Paperback: 464 pages
- ISBN-13: 9781781683200
- Item Weight: 374.22 grams
- Dimensions: 7.79 x 5.09 x 1.17 cm
The classic text, with a new introduction by Anthony Barnett
In this classic text, first published in 1977, Tom Nairn memorably depicts the “slow foundering” of the United Kingdom on the rocks of constitutional anachronism, its fall from empire and the gathering force of civic nationalism. Rich in comparisons between the nationalisms of the British Isles and those of the wider world, The Break-Up of Britain concludes by reflecting on the Janus-faced nature of national identity. Postscripts from the Thatcher and New Labour years trace the political strategies whose upshot accelerated the demise of a British order they were intended to serve.
As a second Scottish independence referendum beckons, a new introduction by openDemocracy’s Anthony Barnett underlines the book’s enduring relevance.
About the Author
Tom Nairn (1932–2023) was one of the UK’s most gifted left-wing thinkers and a towering radical imagination. His books included The Break-Up of Britain, The Enchanted Glass: Britain and Its Monarchy and The Left Against Europe?
