Book review: rule, Britannia! Getting caught up in the web of language, customs, symbols and institutions that define us

This book analyses the current debates around national identity and multiculturalism by asking why so many people treat as common sense the idea that they live in and belong to nations. Ross Bond finds that through careful attention to the microsociological detail of everyday conversation, Michael Skey shows how people’s perspectives are guided by national frames of reference, which in turn afford them a sense of security in reflecting upon the world around them. National Belonging and Everyday Life: The Significance of Nationhood in an Uncertain World. Michael Skey. Palgrave Macmillan. October 2011.