The Nation State

In Our Time: History

BBC

History

4.4 • 3.2K Ratings

🗓️ 14 October 1999

⏱️ 28 minutes

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Summary

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Nation State. When we speak of our island story which island do we mean? When did England elide with Britain and why does it sit uneasily alongside the United Kingdom? At the end of the 20th century, the identity of one of the most forceful countries of the millennium is subject to scrutiny, doubt and criticism. What is England now? When did it act as England and not Britain, or the UK, or the British Isles? And how does its new role fit in with the idea of the Nation State which has dominated the internal and, more dramatically, the external behaviour of many powerful countries over the last few centuries? Yet despite its mighty past the Nation State itself can now seem powerless against the forces of globalisation. With Norman Davies, Emeritus Professor, London University and author of The Isles: A History; Andrew Marr, former editor of The Independent and author of Ruling Britannia: the Failure and Future of British Democracy.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thanks for downloading the Inartime podcast. For more details about Inartime and for our terms of use
0:05.4	Please go to bbc.co.uk forward slash radio for I hope you enjoy the program
0:11.9	Hello as we end the century the identity of one of the most influential and forceful countries of the last millennium our own is
0:19.2	subject to scrutiny, doubt and criticism
0:21.7	What is England now or do I mean Britain?
0:24.0	When did it act as England and not Britain or the UK or the British Isles?
0:27.9	And how does this new role fit in with the idea of the nation's state which has dominated the internal and more dramatically the external behavior of many powerful countries over the last few centuries?
0:38.2	Yet despite its mighty past the nation state itself can now seem powerless against the forces of globalisation
0:44.7	To discuss this I'm joined by Norman Davis, emeritus professor at London University whose massive book Europe a history was a well-deserved and great success
0:53.7	He takes up the story of our country our Isles with an equally impressive and fascinating book called The Isles a history
1:00.4	I'm also joined by Andrew Mah former and even independent an author of ruling Britannia the failure and future of British democracy
1:07.2	He just finished a BBC TV series the day Britain died that'll come out in January
1:12.0	Let's try to divide the program into two parts first of all talking about our national story and then the nation's state
1:17.7	Norman Davis, what are the founding stories of British inhabitation and the creation of the nation of Britain?
1:26.1	I see you assume that there is a British nation to begin with
1:29.8	Well, I'm trying to prepare. I'm trying to crack this nut
1:33.4	Rather than making an entire meal of it
1:35.3	I know that occupies a lot of your introduction indeed
1:38.5	But the the BBC sent out instructions this year in the brochure call or changing you can't not to use the word
1:45.7	Nation in in connection with with the United Kingdom
1:50.0	You're not supposed to be doing this melding and and there are people the Oxford companion to British history
1:56.7	It starts off by saying there may have been a British state. There's never been a British nation
	...

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