Tom Nairn

Thomas Cunningham Nairn (2 June 1932 – 21 January 2023) was a Scottish political theorist and academic. He was an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University. He was known as an essayist and a supporter of Scottish independence.

Nairn was Scotland’s prominent political philosopher of modern times. His most famous book is The Break up of Britain 1977. (Nairn, T. (1977) The Break-up of Britain: Crisis and Neonationalism, London: NLB (2nd ed. 1981 Verso; 3rd 2003 Common Ground Pub) (paperback released in 1981)

Nairn writes that nationalism is both good and bad. He says that Scotland is different and uniquely moved to a modern state in the 1700s, with increased trade due to the union 1707. By contrast in Europe 1800s, nationalism took hold with the demise of empires, and the rise of nation states. Many European states used nationalism during the 1800s to deal with the uneven nature of capitalism. Provided by Wikipedia