Political traditions and UK politics
By: Matthew Hall
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 272
ISBN-13: 9780230292024
Subjects: Politics and government; POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / General; POLITICAL SCIENCE / History & Theory; History; Political participation; POLITICAL SCIENCE / Government / National
Description: Many accounts of recent developments in British politics have incorporated the two notable trends of reference to the Westminster Model and a tendency towards British exceptionalism. In order to tackle the issues emanating from these accounts this book seeks to critically consider the use of the concept of political traditions in British politics. In doing so it develops a critical conception of the predominant and competing political traditions operating in Britainches Matthew Hall offers a theory of how change and continuity in British politics may be explained by stressing the centrality of conflict and contestation in driving historical change and continuity. He develops the idea of the asymmetrical resonance of political traditions over time, explained through reference to contingent events. Including an evaluation of classical approaches to the British political tradition presented by Oakeshott, Birch, Beer and Greenleaf, as well as the critical views of Marsh, Tant and Evans, his book also assesses more recent usages of the concept of political tradition by Bevir and Rhodes and Marquand.
Notes: Includes index.
Table of contents: title: Variations on a theme : the British political tradition and explanations of British politics; title: Tradition or traditions; title: Exploring tradition; title: The British political tradition revisited; title: The British political tradition and political life in the UK; title: The participatory tradition; title: The nationalist tradition.