Citizenship and Community Liberals, Radicals and Collective Identities in the British Isles, 1865–1931

An exploration of the relationship between traditional ideals of 'civic virtue', and various 'currents of radicalism', from Victorian advanced liberals to Irish and Welsh socialists. Its comparative emphasis reveals how regional identity affected popular attitudes to political and social debates.



In 1883 the radical journalist W. E. Adams described community self-government as 'the essence of all political liberalism that is worthy of the name'. This collaborative volume of essays enlarges upon Adams' thesis, applying it to the study of various 'currents of radicalism' in Britain and Ireland, and ranging from Victorian advanced liberals to Irish and Welsh socialists in the 1920s. Citizenship and Community explores the links between liberalism, social democracy and nationalism within the framework of classical republican ideals of 'civic virtue' and active citizenship. Its strong comparative emphasis breaks down conventional views of the state, and focuses attention on the regions of Britain, revealing how different forms of collective identity interacted in popular attitudes to political and social debates at a national level.