http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/8600 ^ Moving to College of Arts, Law and Social Sciences Wed, 24 Jun 2026 22:38:11 GMT 2026-06-24T22:38:11Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33440 Title: Precedent, principle, and practice: The role of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales in the parliamentary debates on the American Revolution, 1765-1776 Authors: Maib, Nicole Abstract: This thesis analyses the British parliamentary debates in the House of Commons and House of Lords from the years 1765-1776 and the private correspondence of select MPs and Peers to explain and discuss the arguments presented in Parliament during the course of the conflict between Britain and the American colonies which culminated in the Declaration of Independence on 4 July 1776. When viewed from the perspective of the parliamentary debates, MPs and Peers consistently based their decisions regarding the conflict on past precedents established within the realm of Great Britain and Ireland, thus the countries of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Parliamentarians used these precedents to argue for the case of principle (whether it was right to act) or practice (whether it was wise to do so) on the proposed measures, whether that be conciliatory or coercive. More significantly, Parliamentarians became increasingly concerned about how their responses and actions towards the American colonies could alter the terms of Parliament’s sovereignty and its relations and authority over nations throughout its realm, most especially with Ireland and Scotland. There was real potential for the British American conflict to inspire and provoke similar rebellious movements for independence in other parts of the British realm, most particularly in Ireland. This thesis concludes that Parliament’s steadfast reliance on and concern to uphold historic policy precedents set with Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, became a key strategy for managing the evolving political crisis with the American colonies during this period. This approach, however, failed to consider the American colonies’ unique status within the realm. In turn, this clouded and impeded Parliament’s decision-making process because, to Parliament, it was not purely a case of maintaining its authority and sovereignty over the American colonies, but also over those nations much closer to home, namely Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Description: This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University London Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33440 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/32840 Title: Contested Integration in the Borderlands: Narrating the EU in German Regional Newspapers Authors: Sarmiento-Mirwaldt, K Abstract: ... Description: ... Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/32840 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/32815 Title: UK Live Comedy Sector Survey Report 2025 Authors: Lockyer, S; Weaver, S; Rowe, G Abstract: This report details the main findings of the UK Live Comedy Sector Survey 2025 run by the Centre for Comedy Studies Research (CCSR), the Live Comedy Association (LCA) and British Comedy Guide (BCG). This is a follow-up to the first Live Comedy Sector Survey, conducted in 2024, and examines the economic, social and cultural impact of the UK live comedy sector. It also provides a progress update on the series of recommendations made in the 2024 report. The 2025 survey was completed by 272 people working in UK live comedy. 63% of respondents were comedians and 37% were people working as either comedy promoters, producers, venue managers, festival organisers, agents, technicians, publishers, journalists or comedy critics. Survey findings and their related recommendations are clustered around 4 key themes: The economics of the live comedy sector; The spaces and places of live comedy; The social impact of live comedy; and inequalities and inequities of live comedy. Description: The UK Live Comedy Sector Survey 2025 was jointly conducted by the Centre for Comedy Studies Research at Brunel University, the Live Comedy Association, and British Comedy Guide. The UK Live Comedy Sector Survey was administered by Brunel University of London and ethical approval to conduct the survey was received from the College of Arts, Law and Social Sciences Research Ethics Committee at Brunel University of London.; At head of title page: comedysurvey.co.uk .; The survey was open from 15th July to 18th August 2025 and from 13th October to 24th October 2025. The survey was distributed through industry press and several further industry distribution lists and networks. Survey data was analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/32815 2026-02-04T00:00:00Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/32813 Title: Brexit and the Death of Centrist Liberalism Authors: Wilkin, P Abstract: This paper makes the argument that Brexit is one of a series of challenges to centrist liberalism taking place across the core nation-states of the modern world-system. Offering a world-systems analysis on Brexit it draws upon two key themes from it to analyse the meaning of Brexit for the geocultural ideology which has dominated the modern world-system since the French revolution, what Wallerstein called centrist liberalism. First it situates Brexit in the longue durée regarding the manufacture of the United Kingdom and the development of its unifying national culture. The colonial and imperialist history of the United Kingdom are foundational to its national culture and have generated an uneven and increasingly contested support for popular imperialism. Brexit is, therefore, presented as a reaction to the abandonment of the social compact that underpinned British national culture over the course of the late C19 and C20, driven by the transformation of British political economy through powerful neoliberal policies. Second, whilst acknowledging the unique nature of Brexit, the paper situates the UK as a part of the core of the modern world-system to argue that the meaning of Brexit has to be situated in the context of the ongoing transformation of the political economy of the core since 1979–80, and the political responses that this has generated. Sat, 14 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/32813 2026-02-14T00:00:00Z