Download or read book More Scottish than British written by Christopher Carman and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-02-20 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using official statistics, this book explores how the SNP managed to confound expectations and win a parliamentary majority in the 2011 Scottish General Election. Perhaps surprisingly, it was not constitutional politics or the return of the Conservatives to power in Westminster but domestic issues that decided the vote in the SNP's favour.

Download or read book Pale Blue Dot written by Carl Sagan and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2011-07-06 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Fascinating . . . memorable . . . revealing . . . perhaps the best of Carl Sagan’s books.”—The Washington Post Book World (front page review) In Cosmos, the late astronomer Carl Sagan cast his gaze over the magnificent mystery of the Universe and made it accessible to millions of people around the world. Now in this stunning sequel, Carl Sagan completes his revolutionary journey through space and time. Future generations will look back on our epoch as the time when the human race finally broke into a radically new frontier—space. In Pale Blue Dot, Sagan traces the spellbinding history of our launch into the cosmos and assesses the future that looms before us as we move out into our own solar system and on to distant galaxies beyond. The exploration and eventual settlement of other worlds is neither a fantasy nor luxury, insists Sagan, but rather a necessary condition for the survival of the human race. “Takes readers far beyond Cosmos . . . Sagan sees humanity’s future in the stars.”—Chicago Tribune

Download or read book Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot written by John Lloyd and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-03-24 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Scottish nationalists seek to end the United Kingdom after 300 years of a successful union. Their drive for an independent Scotland is now nearer to success than it has ever been. Success would mean a diminished Britain and a perilously insecure Scotland. The nationalists have represented the three centuries of union with England as a malign and damaging association for Scotland. The European Union is held out as an alternative and a safeguard for Scotland's future. But the siren call of secession would lure Scotland into a state of radical instability, disrupting ties of work, commerce and kinship and impoverishing the economy. All this with no guarantee of growth in an EU now struggling with a downturn in most of its states and the increasing disaffection of many of its members. In this incisive and controversial book, journalist John Lloyd cuts through the rhetoric to show that the economic plans of the Scottish National Party are deeply unrealistic; the loss of a subsidy of as much as £10 billion a year from the Treasury would mean large-scale cuts, much deeper than those effected by Westminster; the broadly equal provision of health, social services, education and pensions across the UK would cease, leaving Scotland with the need to recreate many of these systems on its own; and the claim that Scotland would join the most successful of the world's small states - as Denmark, New Zealand and Norway - is no more than an aspiration with little prospect of success. The alternative to independence is clear: a strong devolution settlement and a joint reform of the British union to modernise the UK's age-old structures, reduce the centralisation of power and boost the ability of all Britain's nations and regions to support and unleash their creative and productive potential. Scotland has remained a nation in union with three other nations - England, Northern Ireland and Wales. It will continue as one, more securely in a familiar companionship.

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Scottish Politics written by Michael Keating and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-08-21 with total page 667 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Handbook of Scottish Politics provides a detailed overview of politics in Scotland, looking at areas such as elections and electoral behaviour, public policy, political parties, and Scotland's relationship with the EU and the wider world. The contributors to this volume are some of the leading experts on politics in Scotland.

Download or read book Britain in the Nineties written by Hugh Berrington and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-06-11 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume looks at the changes in British politics and government since the accession of Mrs Thatcher in 1979, and in particular at the 1990s. Its aim is to explore some of these changes and to emphasize the recurring paradoxes in political developments.

Download or read book My Scotland Our Britain written by Gordon Brown and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-06-19 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: My Scotland, Our Britain: A Future Worth Sharingis a highly personal account of Gordon Brown's Scotland, the nation he was born in, and our Britain, the multinational state that the Scots, English, Welsh and Northern Irish have created and share. Laying bare his family's ancestry over 300 years of the Union and explaining how it shaped his background, Brown charts what it was like growing up in Scotland in the 1950s and 1960s, and explains the influence of religion, education and Scotland's unique industrial structure on the shaping of his and Scotland's identity. He sets out the dramatic economic, social and cultural changes of the past fifty years and the vastly different prospects his children will face, demonstrating that a sense of Scottish national identity has always remained strong and how Scottish institutions have always fiercely guarded their independence. The referendum should not be seen as a battle between Scotland and Britain, he argues, but one between two visions of Scotland's future: one that sees Scotland prosper with a strong Scottish Parliament that is part of the UK, and one that severs all the political links Scots have with the UK. Brown puts forward his proposal for a constitutional settlement that could unite the country, and argues that in tune with Scotland's history of deep engagement with the wider world -as inventors, explorers, traders, missionaries, business leaders and aid workers -the best future for Scots is not to leave Britain, but to continue to shape it.

Download or read book British Social Attitudes written by Alison Park and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2001-11-28 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The indispensable annual British Social Attitudes survey compiles, describes and comments on a range of current social attitudes. The series charts changes in British social values, with annual surveys carried out from a nationwide sample of around 3,500 people by the National Centre for Social Research′s team of interviewers. The 18th Report summarizes and interprets data from the most recent survey, and makes comparisons with findings from previous years. `The Rolls Royce of opinion surveys′ - The Times

Download or read book National Identity Nationalism and Constitutional Change written by F. Bechhofer and published by Springer. This book was released on 2009-07-08 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does it mean to say you're English, Scottish, British? Does it matter much to people? Has devolution and constitutional change made a difference to national identity? Does the future of the UK depend on whether or not people think they are British? Social and political scientists answer these questions vital to the future of the British state.

Download or read book Understanding National Identity written by David McCrone and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-03-26 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Investigates the concept of 'national identity' based on twenty years of empirical evidence.

Download or read book Scotland Decides written by Hugh Bochel and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-01-11 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scotland has a parliament for the first time in almost 300 years, and this book is an account of how this came about. The authors trace the origins and history of the demand for home rule in Scotland, focusing particularly on developments following the failure of the first referendum on the issue in 1979, which culminated in a second referendum in September 1997. This major political event attracted national and international interest, and its decisive result was a milestone in Scottish history. This work presents an analysis of the referendum campaign at both national and local levels, including media coverage of the event and the outcome. The reactions of voters are explored on the basis of a large survey of the electorate, and lessons to be learnt about referendums in the UK and elsewhere are discussed.

Download or read book Pro independence Movements and Immigration written by Roberta Medda-Windischer and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2016-08-01 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The volume “Pro-independence Movements and Immigration: Discourse, Policy and Practice”, edited by Roberta Medda-Windischer and Patricia Popelier, explores the ways in which pro-independence movements and the governments of sub-state nations view and interact with new immigrants. It also examines the attitudes of new minorities toward pro-independence movements. Through case studies from the Basque Country, Flanders, Catalonia, Quebec, Scotland and South Tyrol, the authors examine the interrelationship between pro-independence movements and new minorities from a new perspective, oriented towards a more plural and inclusive approach between all individuals and groups (regardless of whether they are old or new minority groups) living in a given territory, and particularly in sub-national territories.

Download or read book British Elections and Parties Yearbook written by David Broughton and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-03-25 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume looks at the political events and discusses the major issues of 1994, most notably the European parliament elections.

Download or read book Changing Scotland written by Ermisch, John F. and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 2005-07 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Scottish Parliament opened in 1999. Since this devolution of powers, there has been an increase in the demand for empirically-based, policy relevant, comparative research to help design policies and determine their impact.

Download or read book National Identity written by Richard R. Verdugo and published by IAP. This book was released on 2016-06-01 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: National identity has been the subject of much controversy and debate. Some have even suggested dropping the concept entirely. One group, Essentialists, argue that national identity is fixed, cultural, based on birth and ancestry. Another viewpoint is posited by Postmodernists who argue that national identity is malleable, invented or imagined. As alternatives, some have suggested that national identity is a hybrid of both Essentialist and Postmodernist views. And still others bypass this argument and suggest that national identity should be based on civic factors, such as shared values and norms about citizenship. While controversy and debate are healthy exercises in any science, at some point order must be established if science is to proceed. The present volume is based on the idea that national identity is an ideal-type concept; it does not completely capture reality, but is used for analytic purposes. In addition, rather than focusing on these theoretical debates, we pursue research with the idea that results from research will contribute to the field of national identity. Three areas of national identity are discussed: theoretical, national, and individual. Two chapters focus on the major theories about national identity, provide critiques, and make suggestions about the topic. In section two, six chapters provide case studies of national identity on Scotland, Ireland, Russia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Germany, and France. In section three, two case studies focus on immigrants and the challenges they face in forming their identities, especially identifying with their host countries—Belgium, and the United Kingdom. Several important conclusions may be gleaned from the contributions of the present volume. To begin with, while national identity is a slippery concept, if the field wishes to move beyond debate about fundamentals, it would be well advised to view the concept as an ideal-type as suggested by the great German scholar, Max Weber. Secondly, the case studies included in the present volume indicate that national identity is not only based on ethnicity and culture, but on such external factors as governance regimes and their changes, economic crises, wars and other forms of aggressive activity, and social demographic changes in a population. These factors affect a population at the national level. For immigrants at the individual level, developing national identity is greatly affected by four interrelated factors: 1) the degree to which they are accepted by members of the host society; 2) immigrants’ language skills and physical appearances; 3) how well they are able to balance their host national identity, their ethnic identity, and acceptance of their native country; 4) and their generational status. Generally, at the national and individual levels, context and circumstances matter in developing national identity.

Download or read book Devolution and Social Citizenship in the UK written by Scott L. Greer and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 2009-01-21 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This timely book explores how changing territorial politics are impacting on social citizenship rights across the UK.

Download or read book Constituting Scotland written by W. Elliot Bulmer and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2016-07-08 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Before the independence referendum in 2014, the First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond promised a written constitution for Scotland in the event of a 'Yes' vote. The UK is almost unique in having never adopted a written constitution or other fundamental law. Why did this commitment arise in Scotland?

Download or read book Multiculturalism Social Cohesion and Immigration written by Martin Bulmer and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-10-02 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Multiculturalism, Social Cohesion and Immigration brings together original research that addresses key facets of the changing dynamics of race, multiculturalism and immigration in contemporary British society. The various chapters in this volume tackle important social and political issues such as ethnic diversity and segregation, post-race politics, contact and threat hypotheses, national identity, anti-racist mobilisation and whiteness. It provides an important insight into the dynamics of contemporary British society. This book was originally published as a special issue of Ethnic and Racial Studies.