The implementation of devolution within the UK in 1999 brought with it claims that policy-makers would be able to more effectively address the particular needs of different national groupings. This was encapsulated in different ways but perhaps most notably in the oft-voiced ideas of Scottish and Welsh solutions for Scottish and Welsh problems. Leaving aside the vexed and contentious issue of identifying ‘problems’ as being particularly or uniquely Scottish, Welsh or English, nonetheless such constructions do immediately signal the coming together of ideas of the national and policy making. One of the central objectives of this important book by Béland and Lecours is to enhance our understanding of the complex interactions between ideas of the national, in particular nationalism and nationalist mobilisations, and social policy making. They claim that such entanglements have rarely been discussed in the social policy literature – nor taken-up in the large literature that exists around different aspects of nationalism. From the perspective of social policy, however, I feel that they neglect the important work that has been done by John Clarke, Fiona Williams and Gail Lewis among others in highlighting the role of social welfare in the forging of the welfare state at a UK national level, not least in the post-1945 era but also how this continues to play an important role. There are, in fact, many competing nationals at work in the UK today.

This particular study offers a comparison of nationalist movements, which suggests a wider national-ist mobilisation than that represented by nationalist party's such as the Scottish National Party or the Parti Québécois, and their impact on social welfare in three contexts: Quebec, Scotland and in Flanders. They are linked by a shared concern with what the authors term the ‘nationalism-social policy nexus’. Underpinning this nexus, it is claimed, are the two key elements of solidarity and identity. The three substantive case studies in the book contain six claims that are made about the nationalism-social policy nexus: the importance of social policy in building and consolidating national identity; that social policy is an important instrument of territorial differentiation in the symbolic struggles over political autonomy and power; that nationalism and social welfare are framed in reference to the idea of solidarity; that sub-state nationalism of the kind evidenced in Flanders, Scotland and Quebec, shapes the policy agenda; that the framing process shapes debates around territorial solidarity; and that nationalist movements do not necessarily favour an erosion of welfare at the state or sub-state levels. This latter claim is particularly important given widespread fears over the past decade or so that devolution, in the UK and elsewhere, would inevitably promote a ‘race to the bottom’ and a deterioration in social welfare standards and provision. The key argument running through this study is that sub-state nationalism can have positive impacts on the demand for progressive social policy making. In the context of Scotland today, for example, both the Scottish National Party and the Labour Party make different claims as the representatives of what are mythologised as Scottish national sentiments, that they are driven by ‘Scottish values’ which speak of egalitarianism, solidarity and communality. Each is in a struggle as heirs to what is widely constructed as a uniquely Scottish form of social democracy, underpinning progressive social welfare. The importance of this, and in the other sub-state nationalisms explored here by Béland and Lecours, is that it highlights that these do not necessarily embrace ‘fiscal conservatism’ and social policy retrenchment. National movements, therefore, ‘tend to seek the decentralisation of social policy, so that they can bring the mechanisms of solidarity within the boundaries of their national community’ (p. 193).

The choice of Quebec, Scotland and Flanders to support the claims made in this study is well made in my view. In each of the contexts Béland and Lecours offer a thoughtful discussion of some of the key moments in the rise of the respective nationalist movements and while these cover ground that is largely well trodden, nonetheless in keeping with the central focus on the nationalism social policy nexus, they are able to offer different interpretations and new insights which makes the historical background an important element of the book as a whole. In both the Canadian and UK contexts, what emerges from the study is that there is a strong relationship between nationalism and social policy, as evidenced by developments in Quebec and Scotland. Social policy acts as an important mechanism of nation building – as well as of national mobilisation against the Federal Government, in the context of Canada, and the UK Government in London. The case of Flemish nationalism is different in important respects from that of Scotland and Quebec, however. Béland and Lecours argue that the connection between sub-state nationalism and social policy is fairly recent. Historically, though important elements of this continue to underpin and shape national mobilisation in Flanders today, Flemish nationalism was much more of a cultural and linguistic movement than is the case in either Quebec or Scotland. Flemish identity, therefore, is less permeated by social policy issues. That social policy has not been as central here also in part reflects that Flanders has long been the richest and most populous region within Belgium.

One key issue which is somewhat neglected, however, is the relationship between nationalism and other forms of identity and mobilisation. In particular, I feel that the role of class is largely ignored and not at all compensated for by the brief reference in the final few pages to Esping-Andersen's model of class mobilisation in terms of union membership and party identification. In the context of Scotland, for instance, the entanglements between the national and the class questions are long standing and complex. It is difficult indeed to separate these in any meaningful and useful way. Arguably, expressions of Scottish nationalism or of a Scottish national consciousness reflect in no small part the expression of class sentiments.

The three case studies in this book show not only that social policy plays a crucially important role in nation building, but that it is also highly variable. For Béland and Lecours, there are then significant implications for the study both of nationalism and of social policy, the key claims that are being made here have relevance beyond the national movements considered in this study and the book is a counter to claims that nationalist movements are driven only by economic factors. Again though, in terms of taking this forward, it is important to consider the interrelationship between economic, social, cultural and political factors in the making of national mobilisations. The question of social welfare straddles and encompasses all of these.

This is an important and welcome contribution to the debate that is ongoing in this field. It is to be hoped that it does help to draw attention once more to the relationship between nationalism and social policy making.