The Politics of Nationhood

The politics of nationhood has been central to British Conservative politics for over a century, the Conservative Party being identified as a patriotic party defending the nation state and British identity. But withdrawal from Empire, EC membership, sub-state nationalisms and multi-culturalism forced a reworking of Conservative politics. Thatcherism's populist patriotic discourse, defense of national sovereignty and the Union, and hardline approach to immigration marked an attempt to restore Conservative predominance in the politics of nationhood. Philip Lynch examines the Conservative politics of nationhood during the Thatcher and Major period, assessing the importance of the nation state and national identity to Conservative statecraft and examining party policy on European integration, territorial politics and the politics of race.