Hopes for a peaceful settlement in Northern Ireland have again put the politics of the province under the spotlight. This new text, written by acknowledged experts on Northern Ireland, provides an immediately accessible introduction to the multi-faceted nature of the politics of the region.

Irish Civilization provides the perfect background and introduction to both the history of Ireland until 1921 and the development of Ireland and Northern Ireland since 1921. This book illustrates how these societies have developed in common but also those elements where there have been, and continue to be, substantial differences. It includes a focus on certain central structural aspects, such as: the physical geography, the people, political and governmental structures, cultural contexts, economic and social institutions, and education and the media. Irish Civilization is a vital introduction to the complex history of Ireland and concludes with a discussion of the present state of the relationship between them. It is an essential resource for students of Irish Studies and general readers alike.

This book re-examines the claim of the Conservative Party to be the 'national party' and in its politics to express the enduring 'national interest'. It explores the historical character of the Conservative Party, in particular the significance of the nation in its self-understanding. It addresses the political culture of the modern party, one which proclaims a Unionist vocation but rests mainly on English support, and considers how the Englishness of the party is reconciled with the politics of British statecraft. It considers the constitutional challenges which the Conservative Party faces in managing a changing Union, in negotiating a changing Europe and in defining a changing national interest. The book is essential reading not only for students and scholars of the Conservative Party but also for those who want to make sense of the transformations taking place in modern British politics. -- .

There is a sustained interest amongst students of British politics, as well as an informed public, about the future state of the United Kingdom. The issue at stake is whether the UK's multinational institutions can endure the challenge of political nationalism, especially in Scotland. This has become known as the British Question. This book is designed as both a framework text - setting out concepts by which to understand the British Question - and a synthetic text - providing a digest of significant academic work on historical, conceptual and political matters relevant to that question. The value of the book is its unique focus on the character, resources and function of the United Kingdom as a whole. -- .

Hopes for a peaceful settlement in Northern Ireland have again put the politics of the province under the spotlight. This new text, written by acknowledged experts on Northern Ireland, provides an immediately accessible introduction to the multi-faceted nature of the politics of the region.

Irish Civilization provides the perfect background and introduction to both the history of Ireland until 1921 and the development of Ireland and Northern Ireland since 1921. This book illustrates how these societies have developed in common but also those elements where there have been, and continue to be, substantial differences. It includes a focus on certain central structural aspects, such as: the physical geography, the people, political and governmental structures, cultural contexts, economic and social institutions, and education and the media. Irish Civilization is a vital introduction to the complex history of Ireland and concludes with a discussion of the present state of the relationship between them. It is an essential resource for students of Irish Studies and general readers alike.

In this book, one of the leading authorities on contemporary Northern Ireland politics provides an original, sophisticated and innovative examination of the post-Belfast agreement political landscape. Written in a fluid, witty and accessible style, this book explores:

• how the Belfast Agreement has changed the politics of Northern Ireland
• whether the peace process is still valid
• the problems caused by the language of politics in Northern Ireland
• the conditions necessary to secure political stability
• the inability of unionists and republicans to share the same political discourse
• the insights that political theory can offer to Northern Irish politics
• the future of key political parties and institutions.

In this book, one of the leading authorities on contemporary Northern Ireland politics provides an original, sophisticated and innovative examination of the post-Belfast agreement political landscape. Written in a fluid, witty and accessible style, this book explores:

• how the Belfast Agreement has changed the politics of Northern Ireland
• whether the peace process is still valid
• the problems caused by the language of politics in Northern Ireland
• the conditions necessary to secure political stability
• the inability of unionists and republicans to share the same political discourse
• the insights that political theory can offer to Northern Irish politics
• the future of key political parties and institutions.

The politics of Englishness provides a digest of the debates about England and Englishness and a unique perspective on those debates. Not only does the book provide readers with ready access to and interpretation of the significant literature on the English Question, it also enables them to make sense of the political, historical and cultural factors which constitute that question. The book addresses the condition of England in three interrelated parts. The first looks at traditional narratives of the English polity and reads them as variations of a legend of political Englishness, of England as the exemplary exception, exceptional in its constitutional tradition and exemplary in its political stability. The second considers how the decay of that legend has encouraged anxieties about English political identity and about how English identity can be recognised within the new complexity of British governance. The third revisits these narratives and anxieties, examining them in terms of actual and metaphorical 'locations' of Englishness: the regional, the European and the British. -- .

The term 'conversation' is one of today's jargon terms. This book explores in depth what conversation means in national terms. Its premise is that to be English is to participate in a conversation about the country's history, politics, culture and society. The conversation changes, of course, but there is also continuity which illustrates a distinct tradition. It is a conversation, the book argues, which requires the plural notion of these Englands rather than the singularity of this England. Englishness, then, is the tone, register and idiom of it subject matters, its anxieties and certainties, differences and commonalities. The book explores the English conversation through historical, political, literary and popular voices and tries to identify the character of contemporary Englishness. -- .