Virdee, Mann Singh (2020). Discourses of Africa in the construction of British national identity: an analysis through speeches by British prime ministers (1990 – 2016). University of Birmingham. Ph.D.
|
Virdee2020PhD.pdf
Text - Accepted Version Available under License All rights reserved. Download (5MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Africa occupies a unique place in British consciousness. The rationale for Africa’s centrality in post-Cold War British foreign policy has prompted much scholarly debate, revealing a tension between explanations emphasising Britain’s desire to project power in the world and those focusing on Britain’s attempt to project moral identity through concern for Africa.
Arguing that national identity is discursively constructed, this research explores the role of British prime ministers’ discourses of Africa in the construction of British national identity. It examines continuities and discontinuities in British prime ministers’ speeches that reference Africa, covering the premierships of John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, and David Cameron (1990–2016). Through a 4-step mixed-methods approach, comprising quantitative tools, thematic content analysis, and critical discourse (Discourse-Historical Approach) analysis, this research identifies four content-oriented themes and 11 sub-themes in the speeches. Through these it identifies four discourses about Africa, signifying different visions about Britain’s national identity and place in the world: ‘paternalism’, ‘tutelage’, ‘partnership’, and ‘insecure former empire’. The central finding is that British prime ministers’ discourses of Africa reveal two concurrent but contradictory British national identities. One represents an attempt to forge a new soft-power British national identity whilst the other signifies a reluctance to entirely renounce Britain’s colonial identity.
| Type of Work: | Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Award Type: | Doctorates > Ph.D. | |||||||||
| Supervisor(s): |
|
|||||||||
| Licence: | All rights reserved | |||||||||
| College/Faculty: | Colleges (2008 onwards) > College of Social Sciences | |||||||||
| School or Department: | School of Government, International Development Department | |||||||||
| Funders: | None/not applicable | |||||||||
| Subjects: | J Political Science > JZ International relations | |||||||||
| URI: | http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/10082 |
Actions
 |
Request a Correction |
 |
View Item |
Downloads
Downloads per month over past year