Table of Contents

List of figures and tables; Preface; List of abbreviations; 1. Interpreting coalfield conflict: focus and formulations; 2. Tradition and modernity: the mining industry 1889–1940; 3. Employers and workers: organizations and strategies; 4. Employers and workers: ideologies, attitudes and political orientations; 5. Configurations of strike activity; 6. Strike participation and solidarity before 1912; 7. Strikes, organization and consciousness in 1912 and after; 8. Conflictual context? The 'isolated mass' revisited; 9. Mining and modernity: size, sectionalism and solidarity; 10. The foundations of strike propensity; 11. Miners and management: agency and action; 12. Industrial relations and strikes after nationalization; 13. International perspectives; 14. Myths and realities: strikes, solidarity and 'militant miners'; General appendix.

Promotional Information

A multi disciplinary study of British coalminers strike activity, first published in 1998.

Reviews

'... this outstanding book ... fundamentally reassesses major themes in the history of one of Britain's major industries, develops a new model for strike analysis, and, in reasserting the significance of industrial relations, promises to revitalise labour history ... It is a marriage of history and social science of the very highest quality and should command a wide readership.' Kenneth Brown, The Times Higher Education Supplement '... an impressive and exhaustive study by two scholars with established reputations in this field.' Political Studies