Stuart Ward

How did Britain cease to be global? In Untied Kingdom, Stuart Ward tells the panoramic history of the end of Britain, tracing the ways in which Britishness has been imagined, experienced, disputed and ultimately discarded across the globe since the end of the Second World War. From Indian independence, West Indian immigration and African decolonization to the Suez Crisis and the Falklands War, he uncovers the demise of Britishness as a global civic idea and its impact on communities across the globe. He also shows the consequences of this diminished 'global reach' in Britain itself, from the Troubles in Northern Ireland to resurgent Englishness and the startling success of separatist political agendas in Scotland and Wales. Untied Kingdom puts the contemporary travails of the Union for the first time in their full global perspective as part of the much larger story of the progressive rollback of Britain's imaginative frontiers.

How did Britain cease to be global? In Untied Kingdom, Stuart Ward tells the panoramic history of the end of Britain, tracing the ways in which Britishness has been imagined, experienced, disputed and ultimately discarded across the globe since the end of the Second World War. From Indian independence, West Indian immigration and African decolonization to the Suez Crisis and the Falklands War, he uncovers the demise of Britishness as a global civic idea and its impact on communities across the globe. He also shows the consequences of this diminished 'global reach' in Britain itself, from the Troubles in Northern Ireland to resurgent Englishness and the startling success of separatist political agendas in Scotland and Wales. Untied Kingdom puts the contemporary travails of the Union for the first time in their full global perspective as part of the much larger story of the progressive rollback of Britain's imaginative frontiers.

Australians, it is often said, have long displayed a healthy skepticism towards the symbols and sentiments of nationalism. While exhibiting an almost fanatical pride in the exploits of their sporting heroes, Australians have otherwise remained indifferent to the more formal trappings of their nationhood. Recent events, however, seem to indicate that Australia is at a new departure. The once-derided flag now adorns all kinds of public places, people and civic landmarks; the once-disputed national anthem is spontaneously bellowed at sporting and other popular events; politicians and journalists now invoke 'the nation' with a conviction that once eluded their predecessors; and Australia's national holidays are today observed with a reverence that only decades ago might have seemed 'un-Australian'. This book offers an original and compelling insight into why Australians have come to exhibit their nationhood in these curious new ways. It argues that the critical period for understanding this phenomenon is the twilight of the British Empire in the 1960s and early 1970s. The book is based on the vast reservoir of documentary material in the National Archives of Australia (most of it previously unseen), as well as the rich public record of national rhetoric, rites and rituals since the late 1960s.

This is the first major collaborative reappraisal of Australia's experience of empire since the end of the British Empire itself. The volume examines the meaning and importance of empire in Australia across a broad spectrum of historical issues-ranging from the disinheritance of the Aborigines to the foundations of a new democratic state. The overriding theme is the distinctive Australian perspective on empire. The country's adherence to imperial ideals and aspirations involved not merely the building of a 'new Britannia' but also the forging of a distinctive new culture and society. It was Australian interests and aspirations which ultimately shaped 'Australia's Empire'. While modern Australians have often played down the significance of their British imperial past, the contributors to this book argue that the legacies of empire continue to influence the temper and texture of Australian society today.