Unions and Constitutions

How do you write a constitution for a state in which 45% of the population of one of its founding partners voted to leave a political Union which it helped to create over 300 years ago? It certainly is difficult, and probably impossible. Why should that be? David McCrone talks about unions and constitutions

A nation that dares not speak its name? The English question

Review: 1. R. Colls: Identity of England; Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press 2002, 409 pp.; ISBN 0–199–24519–3. 2. K. Kumar: The Making of English National Identity; Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press 2003, 367 pp.; ISBN 0–521–77736–4. 3. R. Weight: Patriots: National Identity in Britain, 1940–2000; London: Macmillan 2002, 866 pp.; ISBN 0–330–49141–5

Claiming national identity

Using data from the British and Scottish Social Attitudes surveys 2006, this article examines the willingness of people living and born in England and Scotland to accept or reject claims to national identity made by those living in but not born in the appropriate territory. It compares the way claims employing key markers, notably birthplace, accent, parentage, and 'race' are received in the two countries. It is a significant finding that the results for the two countries do not differ greatly. National identity, thinking of oneself as 'exclusively national', is the critical criterion explaining the extent to which respondents reject claims, while there is a modest educational effect, if the respondent does not have a university degree. National identity is not to be equated with citizenship but involves cultural markers of birth, ancestry, and accent as well as residence. Understanding how people identify and use markers of national identity is not as straightforward as politicians in particular believe and imply

National identity and social inclusion

In terms of our national identity who we are and are judged to be in a particular context depends on how well our claims are regarded by those around us. Being considered not 'one of us' means being an outsider whether one wants to be or not. National identity may lead ultimately to social inclusion or exclusion. Using mainly 2005 survey data, this paper explores cultural markers such as ethnicity, birthplace, residence, accent and ancestry regarding claims to be 'Scottish'. It shows that being born in Scotland enables people to make claims and to have them accepted. Claims to be Scottish by a white and a non-white person on the basis of various markers are received in much the same way. The cultural markers which people use to judge claims represent the raw materials of identity differences with the potential to become the basis of social exclusion under appropriate conditions