Ireland and Scotland

Two countries whose histories were deeply influenced by relationships with a neighbouring metropolitan power are compared along their economic, social and cultural dimensions.

Contrasting attitudes to discipline and order were evident in matters of demography (why did Scottish tenants leave quietly when the Irish did not?).Some of the most innovative chapters involve the relationship of historical understanding to the present, as exemplified in the minds of Unionist politicians searching for a new identity or in the minds of of the creators of the wall murals in nationalist and unionist areas of Belfast.