The Two Unions

Much has been written about the decline of the United Kingdom. The Two Unions looks instead at the lengthy survival of the Union, examining the institutions, structures, and individuals that have contributed to its longevity. In order to understand its survival, the author, one of the foremost historians of modern Ireland and of the British-Irish relationship, sustains a comparison between the Irish and Scots Unions, their respective origins and subsequent development. He provides a detailed examination of the two interlinked Unionist movements in Scotland and Ireland. Alvin Jackson illuminates not only the history and varied health of the United Kingdom over the past 300 years, but also its present condition and prospects. In this lucid, powerfully argued and often witty book, Alvin Jackson sets out to compare systematically the genesis, complex histories and contrasting fortunes of the Anglo-Scottish and Anglo-Irish unions nobody has matched the ambition, scope and indeed mastery of this work a summary does scant justice to the complexity and richness of Jackson's arguments and anatomisation of the two unions. This is a book based on considerable original research and a talent for synthesis and assimilation of a voluminous secondary literature. It sets an agenda for thinking about the union and unionisms Politicians at Westminster may well wish to read this book, and ponder hard. Bob Harris, English Historical ReviewI THE MEASURES AND THEIR HISTORIES ; 1. Histories - historiography, comparability, complexity, longevity ; 2. Prehistories (1290-1690, 1300-1782): Scots and Irish ; 3. Contexts (1689-1703, 1782-1798): economic, military, and parliamentary ; 4. Debates and terms (1705-1707, 1799-1801) ; II THE SURVIVAL OF THE UNIONS: OVERVIEWS ; 5. The survival of the Scots union, 1707-1997 ; 6. The survival of the Irish union, 1800-1921 ; III THE SURVIVAL OF THE UNIONS: PEOPLE, IDEAS, INSTITUTIONS ; 7. Scottish unionists and the union, 1707-2007: parties, people, and histories ; 8. Irish unionists and the union, 1801-2007: parties, people, and histories ; IV REFLECTIONS ON THE UNIONS ; 9. Conclusion: North Britain, West Britain ; Bibliography