"Towards a very British version of the “culture wars”. An Introduction"
Résumé
This chapter examines the emergence and the political use of what has come to be known as “culture wars” in the United Kingdom. Adopting multidisciplinary perspectives, it investigates the ways in which cultural identities are used for political ends. The chapter bridges the conceptual and theoretical gap in fully understanding the so-called culture wars in a British context; as such, it envisages debates as part of a larger political project to gain popular support by tapping into voters’ sense of neglect by the political elite. Applying the concept of “populism” as a binding conceptual framework it offers thorough analyses to show that not enough attention is being paid to what may be considered as an “escalation” of culture wars, and to how divisions have been accentuated by political elites to deliberately exacerbate them.