In search of the nature of English nationalism: From the empire to the modern era

E.A. Atapin

Voronezh State University, Voronezh, 394018 Russia

E-mail: atapinvrn@mail.ru

Received April 7, 2021

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Full text PDF

DOI: 10.26907/2541-7738.2021.3.31-40

For citation: Atapin E.A. In search of the nature of English nationalism: From the empire to the modern era. Uchenye Zapiski Kazanskogo Universiteta. Seriya Gumanitarnye Nauki, 2021, vol. 163, no. 3, pp. 31-40. doi: 10.26907/2541-7738.2021.3.31-40. (In Russian)

Abstract

This paper attempts to reveal the essence of the complex nature of English nationalism by tracing its transformation from the 18th century to the early 21st century. The reasons for unpopularity of the problem of English national identity in the English historical discourse (such as the absence of serious national upheavals since the birth of modern British statehood and the relative political success, which made the English national introspection superfluous) were discussed. A contradiction between the “horizontal” perception of the English by the peoples of the British Empire and the view held by the citizens of England on their superiority over others was analyzed. The fact of “concealment” of English nationalism in the British identity to pursue the interests of the empire was revealed. To contrast contemporary English nationalism with that of the imperial era, the research by the Centre for English Identity and Politics highlighting the English concern about their own political representation in the United Kingdom after the devolution was cited. It was concluded that the nature of English nationalism has changed from a civil Anglo-British version without an emphasis on English ethnicity during the empire’s existence to a predominantly ethnic one with a focus on English identity with extremely limited opportunities for civil expression in the early 21st century.

Keywords: English nationalism, national identity, England, British Empire, United Kingdom

References

1. Harris P. Just what sort of nation might the English seek to create? Aeon Essays, 2016, Aug. 9. Available at: https://aeon.co/essays/just-what-sort-of-nation-might-the-english-seek-to-create.
2. English R. Is There an English Nationalism? London, Inst. Public Policy Res., 2011. 9 p.
3. Butterfield H. The Englishman and His History. Cambridge, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1945. 142 p.
4. Kumar K. English and French national identity: Comparisons and contrasts. Nations Natl., 2006, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 413–432. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8129.2006.00247.x.
5. Engler B. Englishness and English studies. In: European English Studies: Contributions towards the History of a Discipline. Engler B., Haas R. (Eds.). Leicester, Engl. Assoc. Eur. Soc. Study Engl., 2000, pp. 335–348.
6. Wrong G. The growth of nationalism in the British Empire. The American Historical Review, 1916, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 45–57.
7. Kumar K. Empire and English nationalism. Nations and Nationalism, 2006, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 1–13. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8129.2006.00227.x.
8. Nairn T. The Break-up of Britain: Crisis and Neo-Nationalism. London, New Left Books, 1977. 368 p.
9. Wellings B. Empire-nation: National and imperial discourses in England. Nations and Nationalism, 2002, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 95–109. doi: 10.1111/1469-8219.00040.
10. Bond R. Review: English national identity. Scottish Affairs, 2004, no. 48, pp. 50–55.
11. Gibbons T., Malcolm D. Sport and English National Identity in a ‘Disunited Kingdom’. London, Routledge, 2017. 232 p.
12. Denham J. English nationalism is misunderstood. The Irish Times, 2019, Aug. 13. Available at: https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/english-nationalism-is-misunderstood-1.3984982.
13. Kumar K. Negotiating English identity: Englishness, Britishness and the future of the United Kingdom. Nations and Nationalism, 2010, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 469–487. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8129.2010.00442.x.

The content is available under the license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.