Introduction

This roundtable reflects on the intellectual contribution of the Scottish activist, journalist, and theorist Tom Nairn, who died in 2023. Nairn was a leading figure in both the British New Left and the movement for Scottish autonomy and independence. His writings had a formative impact on two major strands in the writing of modern British history: the turn towards a 'Four Nations' historiography and the debates over British 'decline' and modernization. This roundtable interrogates the extent to which his work still speaks to current and future agendas for our field. Individual contributions address Nairn's role in the history of the Scottish left, his examinations of monarchy and empire, and his complex interpretations of millennial discourses of multiculturalism and globalization. What emerges is a picture of a flawed yet indispensable shaper in modern British historiography, whose work inspired and may continue to inspire new work and new insights: not despite, but because of, his polemical style, his powerful political commitments, and his restless appetite for provocation.