Abstract
Political scientists in Britain have traditionally been more comfortable with, and open to, historical work than their American counterparts. There is nevertheless surprisingly little interaction between history and politics in the United Kingdom and little indication that political scientists make much use of even the best historical work on politics or international relations (IR). This essay reviews five more or less recent histories that focus on the British Empire and, more broadly, on Britain's place in the world, suggests why they might be of interest to students of contemporary politics and sketches a framework that might serve to connect them with more recent phenomena in Britain's IR.
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Notes
See Bevir and Rhodes (2006) in the journal's first issue, Vol, (1); the Round Table Discussion on Colin Hay's Why We Hate Politics (2007) in Vol 14(1); (2009): 83–99; and the Symposium on Mark Bevir's Democratic Governance (2010), in Vol 6(2); (2011): 241–283. Not all proponents of constructivist or interpretive approaches are British, of course.
Theda Skocpol has played an extremely important role in insisting on the role of history, institutions and legacies. See Skocpol (1984); and Evans et al (1985). On path dependency, see especially Pierson (2004).
In terms of domestic politics, the most useful historical work would probably be that which focused on the state and public policy. I have made a modest contribution on the former topic (Cronin, 1991) and there is considerable work of more recent vintage on these issues, especially important in this have been the efforts of the Centre for Contemporary British History, now at King's College, London, and of two relatively new journals, Twentieth Century British History and Contemporary British History.
Thorne (1983) cited for effect in Cox et al (2001). Thorne's own historical research is, as it happens, extremely important and well-regarded across disciplines.
The founding text is, of course, Said's Orientalism (1978). Studies of the British empire in this tradition would include McClintock (1995); Sinha (1995); Burton (1998); and many others. For reviews and critiques, see Kennedy (1996); Cannadine (2001); and Porter (2004). The cultural approach to empire was also not much represented in the five-volume Oxford History of the British Empire (Louis, 1998–1999), perhaps simply because of timing.
His use of the term project comes not from Gramsci or his interpreters who seek to describe various ‘hegemonic projects’, but rather from Adam Smith, who contrasted the empire with ‘the project of an empire’.
The next volume will be the work of Sir Stephen Wall, a career civil servant active in European affairs. Wall's views, expressed ever so judiciously, can be found in his A Stranger in Europe: Britain and the EU from Thatcher to Blair (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008).
An exception is Vinen (2010).
What follows should be read on the understanding that my argument is not entirely disinterested, for I am presently writing on these issues. I hope it is nonetheless worthwhile.
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Cronin, J. Britain in the world: Implications for the study of British Politics. Br Polit 7, 55–68 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1057/bp.2011.36
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/bp.2011.36