Who Runs Edinburgh?

David McCrone is emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Edinburgh; a Fellow of the British Academy, and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He co-founded the university’s Institute of Governance in 1999, and has written extensively on the sociology and politics of Scotland, and the comparative study of nationalism. His books include Who Runs Edinburgh? (Edinburgh University Press, 2022), The New Sociology of Scotland (Sage Publications, 2017), and The Sociology of Nationalism: tomorrow’s ancestors (Routledge, 1998). He coordinated a series of studies on national identity in Scotland and in England, funded by The Leverhulme Trust, which culminated in his co-authored book Understanding National Identity, published in 2015 by Cambridge University Press.

David McCrone is a clear-eyed observer of Edinburgh and its peculiarities. He has here constructed a multifaceted analysis of power in the city, firmly grounded in urban sociology, contemporary public administration, and a keen understanding of Edinburgh’s history. Its style is approachable and engaged. This is an essential addition to the literature of Edinburgh.

• PrefaceChapter 1: Who Runs Edinburgh?Studying PowerFrom City to State and beyondThe Ecology of GamesWho governs this place?Getting at Who GovernsEdinburgh GamesA Tale of Two CitiesTackling the questionConclusionChapter 2: Politics in EdinburghThe rise and fall of political parochialismEarly 20th Century municipal politics Inter-War Municipal PoliticsPost-war politicsThe political economy of EdinburghPeople of propertySegregation in EdinburghConclusionChapter 3: Winners and Losers: The Political Economy of EdinburghEdinburgh CastesEdinburgh TodayThe Transformation of EdinburghAbercrombie’s EdinburghTwenty Years OnEdinburgh: City of MoneyConclusionChapter 4: Treading Angels: Edinburgh and its FestivalsBranding PlaceFestival DreamingThe Fringe on TopWhose Festival is it anyway?Keeping the show on the roadHe who pays the piperRegime changeSupporting Casts and Noises Off'Up a winding staircase’ConclusionChapter 5: Are You One of Us? Status in the CityThe social worlds of EdinburghThe world of clubsElites in EdinburghIn the Company of MerchantsA Club of One’s OwnDoes the New Club matter?What are clubs for?Changing MembersAnecdotageThe politics of the New ClubConclusion: knowing who your friends areChapter 6: What school did you go to? Education and Status in EdinburghPaying the feesEton of the NorthDay Schools Educating ladiesAttacking Fees: the end of grant-aidGoing IndependentDocumenting schoolsWhat’s the Pay-Off?An Edinburgh ruling caste?ConclusionChapter 7: Enlightened City: Cultural Power and University LifeUnderstanding the Tounis CollegeThe making of a universityThe university versus the cityWhose university is it anyway?The Englishing of Scotland?City of EnlightenmentProfessional EdinburghConclusionChapter 8: Developing Edinburgh: Pies in the Sky, Holes in the GroundCity as Growth MachineOut on the EdgeEdinburgh ParkThe BioQuarterShawfairDowntown Developments: There Shall be a Scottish ParliamentWhat’s in a Name? from St James Centre to Edinburgh St JamesCaltongate (No More)Back to the Periphery: The WaterfrontWhat’s in it, and for whom?Conclusion: Whose city is it anyway?Chapter 9: Lost in Leith: Accounting for Edinburgh’s TramsTrams: ancient and modernReinventing Trams'Not our project’: governing tramsThe Council and the TramsThe Blame GameTrams and agencementTrams as mega-projectState outsourcingThe Calculable CityInfrastructural Redemption: On to NewhavenConclusion: ticket to rideChapter 10: Does Anyone Really Run Edinburgh?Ecology of GamesPresenting EdinburghImaginary cityA Governing They?Power and politicsSchooling and StatusPerforming EdinburghEroding PowerThe Decline of MoneySpace and PlaceSpreading PowerReading the PapersEducation and statusEdinburgh OthersFemale EdinburghWorking class cityCity of IncomersSo does anyone run Edinburgh?Open for businessConclusion: smoke and mirrorsBibliography