Social change impacts not just upon voting behaviour and party identity but also the formulation of policy. But how do social changes and political developments interact? Which shapes which? Reflecting a belief that social and political structures cannot be understood either in isolation from each other or from the historical processes which form them, this series will examine the forces that have shaped British society and culture. Cross- disciplinary approaches will be encouraged. In the process, the series will aim to make a contribution to existing fields, such as politics, history, sociology and media studies, as well as opening out new and hitherto-neglected fields.
By Adam Richardson
December 30, 2022
This book examines the career of Sir Orme Sargent, one of the most important and distinguished British diplomats of the twentieth century. For almost a quarter of century, Sargent helped shape British policy towards Europe. Covering the period from 1926 to 1949, this study explores Sargent and ...
By Robert Ledger
September 26, 2022
This book investigates the policies of the Thatcher, Major and Blair governments and their approaches towards concentration of economic and political power. The 1979–2007 British governments have variously been described as liberal or, to use a political insult and a favourite academic label, ...
Edited
By Trevor Harris
October 30, 2019
This volume looks at Britain since 1948 – the year when the Empire Windrush brought a group of 492 hopeful Caribbean immigrants to the United Kingdom. “Post-war Britain” may still be the most common label attached to studies in contemporary British history, but the contributors to this book believe...
By Alastair Finlan
October 12, 2017
This book suggests that institutional culture can account for a great deal of the activities and rationale of the Royal Navy. War highlights the role of culture in military organizations and as such acts as a spotlight by which this phenomenon can be assessed seperately and then in comparison in ...
By Richard A. Chapman
November 18, 2016
The Civil Service Commision was created in 1855 and became the key institution in the development of the British civil service. Its work was primarily the recruitment of civil servants by fair methods, treating all qualified applicants equally, and using open competitions wherever practicable. It ...
By Archie Hunter
August 26, 2016
This is the first book to tell the story of on eof the most contentious figures in Victorian and Edwardian politics: that of the independent-minded and exceptionally able Conservative politician, Sir John Eldon Gorst....
By Orna Almog
June 20, 2016
Orna Almog examines the Anglo-Israeli relationship from 1955 to 1958 in the context of the Cold War, superpower rivalry and political upheaval in the Middle East. The author reveals how the British foreign service mistook Israeli thinking for psychological weakness and made errors of judgement....
By Charles Loft
April 24, 2016
More than 40 years after its publication, the 1963 Beeching Report on British railways remains controversial for recommending the closure of a third of Britain’s railways. In this book, Charles Loft examines: why the nationalized railways were in such dire financial straits by 1963 how ...
By Atsuko Ichijo
February 28, 2016
'Independence in Europe', adopted by the Scottish National Party (SNP) as its core policy in 1988, has become part and parcel of contemporary Scottish nationalism. But is this not a contradiction in terms? Nationalistic logic dictates that one cannot demand independence while accepting the ...
By Frank Heinlein
December 09, 2015
This book is an in-depth study of the importnace of the Empire-Commonwealth in the two decades after WWII for Britain's self-image as a great power. By studying a wide range of debates on general and specific imperial problems, the book highlights the "official mind" of decolonization - and of ...
By Martin Farr
August 14, 2015
Reginald McKenna has never been the subject of scholarly attention. This was partly due to his own preference for appearing at the periphery of events even when ostensibly at the centre, and the absence of a significant collection of private papers. This new book redresses the neglect of this...
By James Thomas
July 20, 2015
'IT'S THE SUN WOT WON IT', was the famous headline claim of Britain's most popular newspaper following the Conservative party's victory over Labour in the 1992 general election. The headline referred to a virulent press campaign against Neil Kinnock's Labour party, and dramatically highlighted one ...
