Unravelling identities

Abstract

The decision to go to war by the government of the day is assumed to be a decision taken on behalf of all citizens of the nation, conceived as a collective united by a harmony of interests. Yet in the case of the Iraq War, there is clearly no unified voice of support from the British people. There is division between the state and its citizens, and the latter also reflect the multilayered identities of an increasingly multicultural society. How do individuals displaying multilayered identities relate politically, socially and culturally to the abstract, unified idea of Britishness, and how does this impact upon perceptions concerning the legitimacy of state action?