Book Review: Britain and Ireland
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1478-9302.2008.00165_2.x |
| Date | 01 September 2008 |
| Published date | 01 September 2008 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
B R I T A I N A N D I R E L A N D
democratic potential of unelected bodies is likely
tutions and understandings of imperial social
to be difficult to achieve.
hierarchy. It should be noted that advocates of this
Greater Britain, who drew insights from many
Matthew Flinders
different sources, had multiple and sometimes
(University of Sheffield)
contradictory ideas of what it should be and
therefore they did not present their visions in a
We welcome short reviews of books in all
coherent fashion. The Idea of Greater Britain high-
areas of politics and international relations.
lights this issue and comprehensively examines:
For guidelines on submitting reviews, and to
(1) the motivations of these major advocates; (2)
see an up-to-date listing of books avail-
the assumptions underpinning ‘Greater Britain’;
able for review, please visit http://www.
(3) the responses of its advocates to growing chal-
politicalstudiesreview.org/.
lenges; and (4) the social and political thoughts
that they embodied.
It is worth noting that debates over Greater
Britain were not solely about organising the
Britain and Ireland
British Empire through a union of the UK and its
dominions. These debates also had a bearing on
The Idea of Greater Britain: Empire and
some aspects of globalisation, envisioning an inte-
the Future of World Order, 1860–1900 by
grated, interconnected and interdependent world
Duncan Bell. Princeton NJ: Princeton Univer-
from which each constituent part would benefit
sity Press, 2007. 319pp., £26.95, ISBN 978 0 691
and thrive.The idea of Greater Britain during the
12865 8
Victorian era played a significant role in giving
Britain is the world’s only state which prefixes
rise to the notion of a global village. Bell’s mono-
‘Great’ to its name. The idea of constructing
graph illustrates this point by weaving together a
‘Greater Britain’ arose out of the concerns of
variety of themes covering the physical space of
British public moralists and intellectuals in
empire, the notion of state and nation, and race
response to challenges posed by the spread of
into an elegant narrative. The Idea of Greater Britain
democracy and new competition from the US,
is full of penetrating insights for those seeking to
Russia and Germany. To perpetuate the British
understand the nuances of Victorian notions of
Empire and to manifest its greatness in a rapidly
British Empire and how these quests relate to the
changing world, British thinkers in the heyday of
future of world order.
empire sought to conceptualise and blueprint
Shih-Yu Chou
their imperium. During the late nineteenth
(University of Sheffield)
century, British thinkers driven by expectations
and anxieties conjured up competing visions of
Europeanization of British Defence Policy
Greater Britain such as ‘a single transcontinental
by Robert Dover. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007.
political community’ and ‘a global federal state’.
200pp., £55.00, ISBN 978 0 7546 4899 4
Geographically, the competing visions of
Greater Britain denoted: (1) the totality of the
This scholarly and timely book, which would be
British Empire; (2) four dominions of settlement,
of particular interest to senior undergraduates,
namely Canada, Australia, New Zealand and
postgraduates and academics, is a much-needed
South Africa; and/or (3) English-speaking or
account and analysis of New Labour’s engage-
Anglo-Saxon countries of the world. These
ment with the EU in the area of defence policy
visions of empire reflected a plethora of con-
(mainly between 1998 and 2005). By selecting the
ceptual orientations, political perspectives and
Liberal Intergovernmentalist (LI) framework for
demands.The idea of Greater Britain envisaged a
studying the role of the nation state in EU nego-
potential union of the United Kingdom and its
tiations, chapters 2, 3, 4 and 6 analyse the devel-
settler dominions having shared traditions, insti-
opment of the European Security and Defence
© 2008 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2008 Political Studies Association
Political Studies Review: 2008, 6(3)
B O O K R E V I E W S
383
Policy (ESDP) in relation to the Pörtschach and
fall within the parameters of regularly cited
the Saint Malo processes, which culminated in the
critiques. In sum, the book is clearly written, well
Nice Intergovernmental Conference. The book
structured, focused, informative
and
highly
cleverly provides important linkages between the
engaging...
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