English nationalism, Brexit and the Anglosphere : wider still and wider / Ben Wellings

Includes bibliographical references and index

Discovering England -- English nationalism, Euroscepticism and the Anglosphere -- England's dilemmas: national questions in a global era -- Locating England: national traditions and political dilemmas -- Three pillars of the English Anglosphere -- Gift to the world: England's shared exceptionalism -- Greater Britain: England's wider categories of belonging -- Great wars: England and the defence of British sovereignty -- England's Brexit and the Anglosphere -- Leap into the known: the Anglosphere, England and the Brexit referendum -- taking back control: global Britain and Brexit England -- Inerregnum and restoration: Brexit as English nationalism

This is the first sustained research that examines the inter-relationships between English nationalism, Brexit and the Anglosphere. Much initial analysis of Brexit concentrated on the revolt of those 'left behind' by globalization, whereas this book analyses the elite project behind Brexit. This project was framed within the political traditions of an expansive English nationalism. Far from being parochial 'Little Englanders', elite Brexiteers sought to lessen the rupture of leaving the European Union by suggesting a return to trade and security alliances with true friends and traditional allies in the Anglosphere. By advancing our understanding of English nationalism through an analysis of the elite project of Brexit and its links with the Anglosphere, this book will appeal to students and scholars of British and European politics and international relations as well as the emerging field of trans-national networks amongst and between the English-speaking nations of the world