Contested Britain: Brexit, Austerity and Agency

Description

Drawing on a broad range of disciplines, including political science, sociology, geography and law, Contested Britain combines UK with European insights to give 'outsider' perspective on Brexit, austerity and the state of politics within contemporary British society. A distinctive and original analysis of how the politics of the UK and the lives of British citizens have evolved in the first decades of the twenty-first century, this book provides an interdisciplinary critical examination of the roots, ideology and consequences of austerity politics, the Brexit vote and the rise of populist politics in Britain. Bringing together case studies and perspectives from an array of international researchers across the social sciences, it dissects the ways that the UK has become increasingly contested with profound difference of geography, generation, gender, 'race' and class, and considers agency as a key concept to understand the links between austerity and Brexit.

Marius Guderjan is Lecturer and Researcher at the Centre for British Studies at Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin, Germany. Hugh Mackay is Honorary Associate in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at The Open University, UK. Gesa Stedman is Professor at the Centre for British Studies at Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin, Germany.

"A timely and important contribution to our understanding of the complex entanglements between Brexit, austerity and politics in contemporary Britain. It contextualises these issues in relation to ongoing contestations around the UK itself, drawing on a wide-range of perspectives." Gerry Mooney, The Open University in Scotland