The idea of greater Britain : empire and the future of world order, 1860-1900 / Duncan Bell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bell, Duncan, 1976-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Imperialism--History--19th century.

Imperialism.

National characteristics, British.

Great Britain--Colonies--History--19th century.

Great Britain.

Great Britain--Civilization--19th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (335 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, c2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

During the tumultuous closing decades of the nineteenth century, as the prospect of democracy loomed and as intensified global economic and strategic competition reshaped the political imagination, British thinkers grappled with the question of how best to organize the empire. Many found an answer to the anxieties of the age in the idea of Greater Britain, a union of the United Kingdom and its settler colonies in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and southern Africa. In The Idea of Greater Britain, Duncan Bell analyzes this fertile yet neglected debate, examining how a wide range of thinkers conceived of this vast "Anglo-Saxon" political community. Their proposals ranged from the fantastically ambitious--creating a globe-spanning nation-state--to the practical and mundane--reinforcing existing ties between the colonies and Britain. But all of these ideas were motivated by the disquiet generated by democracy, by challenges to British global supremacy, and by new possibilities for global cooperation and communication that anticipated today's globalization debates. Exploring attitudes toward the state, race, space, nationality, and empire, as well as highlighting the vital theoretical functions played by visions of Greece, Rome, and the United States, Bell illuminates important aspects of late-Victorian political thought and intellectual life.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

1 Introduction: Building Greater Britain

2 Global Competition and Democracy

3 Time, Space, Empire

4 Empire, Nation, State

5 The Politics of the Constitution

6 The Apostle of Unity

7 The Prophet of Righteousness

8 From Ancient to Modern

9 Envisioning America

10 Conclusion: Lineages of Greater Britain

Select Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [273]-311) and index.

ISBN:

9786612157660

9780691151168

0691151164

9781282157668

1282157663

9781400827978

1400827973

OCLC:

505076478