University of Heidelberg

Karl Jasper Centre for Advanced Transcultural Studies

Seminar: From Blitz to Brexit. Society, Economy and Governance in Post-War Britain
Academic Tutor: Dr. Steve Ivings
Student: Kailidou Sevasti
Summer Semester 2017

Mid-term paper on how decolonization affected British identity?

The global financial earthquake occurred in 2008 brought about significant changes in modern
societies as issues of nationalism sparkled. In order to give a cutting ground diagnosis of the
British identity, the word identity by itself ought to be examined. Identity is a fluid term and
can mean many things at a time. For instance, one can be a girl, daughter, citizen of a particular
country and follower of a particular religion or faith. However, the various identities which
person posses can have varying degrees of importance and identifying oneself on a particular
occasion are dependent upon the context and the benefits, which accrue, form posing that
specific identity. With the emergence of the nation states, it has become usual for the concerned
state to inculcate into its citizens a sense of identity which dominates the other identities and
which in turn facilitates the state to establish a kind of harmonious relationship between its
citizens. What extend the history behind the label, the branding the nation carries can trigger
politics of memory, issues of nationalism, how the states deals with its past. The story is
complicated and one needs to explore the dichotomy between the local and the incomer and on
the other side the acculturation process of the migrants, referring to the colonial trauma, shall be
discussed.
When the imperial sway was at its full swing, the Irish, the scot, the weslh forget about their
difference and posed to possess the same identity. There are two main reasons that accounts for
their assertion of common identity. The first reason was that French posed a constant threat to all
the concerned parties. As the saying goes, nothing unites, as the fear of an outsider was also true
for the creation of a common identity among these people. Secondly, their protestant faith was
another factor, which provided them with a common, identify. However ,when the empire
started crumbling after 2nd world war and the former colonies started asking for their own rights
, the differences that lay dormant among the welsh ,Scots, and Irish remerged once again. The
attitude of the politicians at home was different with regard to the new situations. Some of them
were in favor of the continuity of support to the various white governed areas in the former
colonies; however, other opposed it and said that we should take care of our business since we
were not the same imperial force that once we used to be. The response of British government to
the emigration immediately after the emergence of the new states was also one of discrimination
as it allowed the citizens of the white-governed states freely settled in the kingdom whereas the
emigration rules were very strict for the people of sub-continent and the Africa. However, the
rules for emigration ware rendered strict with the passage of time. It was a significant turn in the
policy of the Kingdom as it outright negated the special claim of the white people settled and
governing parts of the former colonies to the citizenship of the country. Previously, it had
allowed the whites in the former colonies to settle in the kingdoms and they considered it as a
second home. Moreover, many people from the former colonies who had settled in the kingdom,
shattered the myth of their racial purity. Therefore now being British does not mean descendent
of a British ancestors. Now it simply means citizen of the kingdom its racial implication was
obliterated with the forward march of time. Another important factor which largely contributed
to the redefinition of the identity was the divergent interests of the Kingdom and the newly
independent countries. No matter how strong the racial ties were , their divergent interest left
them with no choice but to tread the path that was in its interest.
Due to Western European nations choice to continue associating with their former colonies , they
were able to benefit from economic and cultural ties leading to free access to raw materials and
outlets for profitable investments.
Within Britain, how Scottish, the Welsh, English, Irish see Britain and the world outside is also
another component of this paper. Crucial of course is the issue of Britishness in the city and
periphery.
Since the Victorian era, the exhaustive rules of etiquette dominated the social fabric and
monarchy and its apparatus to imperialism revealed the cultural malady of Englishness.
The aftermath of second world war brought down the national demand for self determination and
national dignity of British colonies with India on the face of Ghandi to be the first that
counteracted and abolished colonialism.
It could be argued that at the beginning people were vulnerable to psychological distress and
most probably they experienced dislocation and alienation in Britain. To what extend the policy
makers welcomed them is crucial. Those migrants were familiar with the language. How
commercial forces and stakeholders invested in infrastructure?
Transnational migrants work, pray, and express their political interests in several contexts rather
than in a single nation-state. Some will put down roots in a host country, maintain strong
homeland ties, and belong to religious and political movements that span the globe. These
fidelities are not contradictory to each other.
Moreover, Protestantism was tested as the new migrants developed transnational religions.
Migrants where already familiar with customary practices and traditions in the former colonies.
At the end those religious practices could be characterized as hybrid as a combination of place of
origin and settlement.
To define national identity within UK, the debate between the periphery and the city ought to
examined. The diasporic landscape of London provides heterogeneity of lifestyles, multiplicity
of societal norms, elements that are particularly visible in cities of high diversity under
globalization today. In such metropolis, where the city is a melting pot of cultures, national
identity equals to acceptance inclusion within the local society. The election of Sadiq Khan, the
first Muslim mayor of London, delivered a strong message of dialogue, enriching access to a
community free of Islamophobia and stereotypes and slummed the medieval concept of
Englishness where national identity, after the end of Second World War was associated with
being white.in family and home (Wendy Webster, pg. 574).
As people in the periphery and rural areas, are mainly get involved in cattle, fields and fishing,
people do not need too much information to perform their daily tasks. Just manual labor,
machines and fertilizers. Sow the seeds and harvest does not require a university degree so
knowledge is attained in terms of acquired skills. The rural populace creates its own regional
knowledge, gained through experience and theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.
People remain superstitious, created bias and waste their time in idle gossip. In these areas,
conspiracy theories reach high levels and knowledge comes through oral testimonies, legends,
fairy tales and celebrations.
Migration triggered tectonic shifts in population, it was transformative. It changed the way in
which individuals imagine their social and political spaces, thereby making their migration a
defining aspect of their identityon settler identity and on how the migration of a new other
reshape the identities of pre-existing residents and earlier settlers.
Decolonization, in this context, originated as no under a break for longstanding geopolitical
orientations. It set off another stage in european nation-building, a sort nation-building by
method for withdrawal. The metropoles needed with break down or redefine those many
economic, political, social, likewise mentalties with their particular empires. Done light about
expanded migration from their previous pioneer territories, they additionally needed on redefine
what is to be British, French, or dutch.
At the British case, undoubtedly this massive wave coming from postcolonial areas tested the
national purity. To what extend the national curriculum was revised would shed more light on
this issue and the first steps made my policy makers and commercial forces into building more
inclusive and cohesive societies.
If Britain wants to manage its national interests, then it must first discuss what it means in terms
of the nation. And across Europe, this concept is becoming more rigorous: every small separate
group has the right to national self-determination. As Britain moves into the global diplomatic
arena, the question arises as to whether its maneuvers concern the interests of the whole of
Britain, or England alone.
The British political thought paved the way for new scholars to introduce new theories.
Post colonial theory concentrated on investigating and scrutinizing the fake limits, or the clich
limits, that have been drawn between the East and West, particularly as they identify with the
Middle East. In doing this, scholars concentrate particularly on our generalizations of Middle-
Easterners; notwithstanding, these same thoughts can be stretched out to incorporate how we see
all "others." This is the 'us'- "other" attitude that numerous colonizers bring with them into
another nation. Such basic speculations prompt misguided judgments and miscommunications,
which are regularly the premise of post-colonial investigation