Challenges to National Identity (Edexcel A Level Geography)

Foreign Ownership of UK based Companies

• With state boundaries becoming increasingly permeable to flows of investments, many UK-based companies are foreign owned (EDF or Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)), making ‘Made in Britain’ an increasingly complex idea

• For example:

  • Foreign governments with sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) - In January 2015, Qatar acquired the entire Canary Wharf financial district for £2.6 billion and owns 95% of the Shard and the Chinese government owns a 10% stake in Heathrow Airport

  • TNCs - in 2010, Kraft USA acquired Cadbury's and the UK car industry is mostly foreign-owned

• Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are worth hundreds of billions of dollars and allow foreign governments to own assets in other countries, which many see as undermining national identity and threaten sovereignty 

• Some countries set a high shareholder threshold, making it harder for companies to be bought out by overseas investors

British car industry

• Once the second largest car manufacturer, with names such as Jaguar, Rover, and Triumph dominating the world's exports of vehicles

• Rising production costs and competition from German and Japanese manufacturers in the 1970/80s, led to a shrinking British owned car industry 

• Most UK car manufacturing is now under foreign ownership, which complicates the once iconic British brands

  • In an effort to create a fuel-efficient car that was affordable for the masses, in 1957 the Mini was born 

  • With its very British looks, affordability, and a promise of 'fun, freedom, and adventure' the Mini became a success and soon gained a cult following, even Enzo Ferrari owned a Mini 

  • In 1994 German owned BMW acquired the Rover Group and began manufacturing the modern Mini in Oxford and Birmingham

  • In an effort to keep the 'authenticity' of the brand, the new Mini has optional Union Jack taillights

  • BMW have produced a number customisations in order to keep the 'original' car’s fun and friendly personality such as:

    • Convertibles

    • Hybrid and electric models

    • Seating for 5 adults

  • Yet despite being assembled in the original factories in the UK, parts are manufactured in other EU countries

• BMW have also run Rolls-Royce since 2003, although manufacturing is still based in West Sussex

• MG Motor UK Ltd has its HQ in Birmingham, but is actually owned by China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC)

• The MG badge is about the only thing that is British as the car is manufactured in China and then imported into the UK

• Other 'British' car brands such as the Bentley, Jaguar Land Rover and Lotus are all owned by overseas companies

• This raises the issue of the UKs so-called industrial decline, because although the loss of the car industry did lead to reduced employment, output has increased with profits going offshore

Westernisation

• Largely driven by retail, food and media, 'westernisation' is a soft power challenge to national identity by European and North American TNCs

• Purely US cultural values are promoted as 'Americanisation'

• The spread of 'western' culture by TNCs is not a form of global political power play, however, their promotion does naturally bring about a cultural change to places 

• The most successful companies design, advertise and sell aspirations that people believe they want

  • McDonalds - based in 100 countries and serve over 70 million customers a day, spreading the idea of American fast food

  • Disney - accused of portraying a highly sanitised version of the world with its films, TV channels and resorts that are rooted in a false and unachievable 'American Dream'

  • Apple, Google and Microsoft - all tech giants indirectly spread 'western' ideals, culture, news etc. through their global connections

• The actions of these corporations does not automatically challenge or modify national identities, as these TNCs gain new ideas from various cultures across the globe  

• It is more of an influence, that is then linked to the country of origin - Indian, Korean and Japanese influences inspire creative industries such as film, music and food, creating a 'fusion' that is subsequently 'promoted' as 'western or American'

• Some 'westernisation' is resisted by places; such as when the sales of Valentine's Day cards and associated gifts were targeted by the local government in Kohat, Pakistan, who were worried about the 'western tradition' of honouring a Christian saint

• This 'western and Americanisation' of places promotes a distinctive view of the benefits the dominant capitalist model.

Ownership of Property, Land & Businesses

• Property, land and businesses are increasingly owned by non-nationals which impacts national identity

• Individuals such as billionaires from the former Soviet Union (Russian oligarchs) bought so much property in London that it started to get the nickname ‘Londongrad’ 

• Foreign property investments has pushed up property prices in London, making housing unaffordable for some

• Non-national ownership of property within the UK is targeted within London, which is seen as an area with a 'great return on investment'

• UK citizens are also responsible for changing a places identity

  • Coastal areas in France, Italy and Spain have become British ex-pat areas dominated by retirees, young entrepreneurs and sun-seekers

  • This has contributed to the growth of British enclaves overseas

  • In some places, visible landscapes have been replaced with a new British ethnoscape

• Ethnoscapes are changes made by minority ethnic groups to a cultural landscape in order to remake the place where they live to reflect their origins

  • A British pub in Nice, France, serving a roast beef dinner

• Some also argue that ethnoscapes not only change the physical landscape but also influence a cultural change

  • Ayia Napa, Cyprus is an enclave for young tourists with music, sun, sea and drink as its draw, however, it also encourages the local youngsters to experience and accept tourist behaviours as the 'norm' and increases crime within a once quiet town with cobbled streets, harbourside tavernas and a Medieval monastery

• A consideration is whether ethnoscapes and foreign property investments make it harder/difficult for local residents to buy property or to live in these areas and therefore, considered threats to national identity