Understanding National Identity

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

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'.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?