Imperial Citizenship Empire and the question of belonging [Paperback]

This is the first book-length study of the ideological foundations of British imperialism in the twentieth century. Drawing on the thinking of imperial activists, publicists, ideologues, and travelers such as Lionel Curtis, John Buchan, Arnold White, Richard Jebb and Thomas Sedgwick, this book offers a comparative history of how the idea of imperial citizenship took hold in early twentieth-century Britain, and how it helped foster the articulation of a broader British world. It reveals how imperial citizenship as a form of imperial identity was challenged by voices in both Britain and the empire, and how it influenced later imperial developments such as the immigration to Britain of 'imperial citizens' from the colonies after the Second World War.

A work of political, intellectual and cultural history, the book re-incorporates the histories of the settlement colonies into imperial history, and suggests the importance of comparative history in understanding the imperial endeavour. It will be of interest to students of imperialism, British political and intellectual history, and of the various former dominions.

Acknowledgements

List of abbreviations

General editor's introduction

1. Imperial citizenship

Part I Theories of imperial citizenship

2. Lionel Curtis: imperial citizenship as a prelude to world government

3. John Buchan, romantic imperialism, and the question of who belongs

4. The imperial garden: Arnold White and the parochial view of imperial citizenship

Part II Experiments in imperial citizenship

5. Richard Jebb, intra-imperial immigration, and the practical problems of imperial citizenship

6. Practical imperialism: Thomas Sedgwick and imperial emigration

7. The failure of imperial citizenship

Appendices

Bibliography

Index

Daniel Gorman is Assistant Professor of History and Political Science at the University of Waterloo, Canada