Download or read book Scottish Independence and the Idea of Britain written by Dauvit Broun and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2013-08-20 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a fresh perspective on the question of Scotland's relationship with Britain. It challenges the standard concept of the Scots as an ancient nation whose British identity only emerged in the early modern era.

Download or read book The Case for Scottish Independence written by Ben Jackson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-07-09 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traces the development of the ideology of modern Scottish nationalism from the 1960s to the independence referendum in 2014.

Download or read book Scotland After Britain written by Neil Davidson and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2022-09-13 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is Scottish independence for? Since the referendum, Scottish independence has been captured by conservative forces. Scotland After Britain argues for fidelity to the true meaning of the word independence. It should mean not only a break from the failing British state, but also from the prison of free trade and militarism that has delivered successive crises. Most of all, independence must honestly address the huge injustices of income, wealth and power that continue to define Scottish society, by restoring agency to working class communities and voters. Scotland After Britain shines a spotlight on pro-independence politics since Brexit and the pandemic. The Scottish national question has emerged as the biggest fracture in the British state after Brexit. The independence movement emerged from mass public disenchantment at the status quo, yet the SNP continues governing as if that disenchantment never happened, and the party leadership appears increasingly ambivalent about the risks of demanding independence. Most of all, the British state remains hostile to allowing a second referendum, while the SNP leadership has been unwilling to sanction protest beyond the ballot box. Where do we go from here? Scotland After Britain argues Brexit could force the movement to engage in a reckoning with the true stakes of independence, a process that will inevitably require a breach with the SNP’s establishment vision.

Download or read book A Nation Again written by Paul Henderson Scott and published by Luath Press Ltd. This book was released on 2013-10-31 with total page 143 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the Scottish people prepare for their biggest ever collective decision with a proposed referendum near at hand, The Independence Book forcefully sets out the Case for Independence. The Imperative of Independence is demonstrated by varied distinguished authors, including contributions from Neil Kay, Tom Nairn and Betty Davies. Each author tackles the subject in a different way - personal, political, historical or academic - but the key denominator is clear: Independence Must Come. BACK COVER: If you believe in the Case for Independence, this book will provide you with a stirring endorsement of your view. If you are sceptical, it might well persuade you to convert to the cause. If you are downright hostile, this book could be dangeroud - it could prompt you to rethink. Suddenly Scottish Independence is within grasp. Is this a frivolous pipedream, a romantic illusion? Or is it, as the writers of this dynamic and positive collection of essays insist, an authentic political option, feasible and beneficial? As the Scottish people prepare for their biggest ever collective decision, this book forcefully sets out the Case for Independence. The distinguished authors, from a variety of different perspectives, argue the acase for the Imperative of Independence. The case is made in various styles - personal, political, academic, historical, philosophical. But the key denominator is clear - Independence Must Come: it will be good for Scotland (and England too).REVIEWS: If anyone were to ask me if there's a handy wee book which effectively argues the case for Scottish independence and, just as importantly, counters the main Unionist objections, then this is the book I'd recommend. It does what it says on the tin.

Download or read book Scottish Nationalism written by Richard Finlay and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2022-04-07 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For more than a decade now, the issue of Scottish independence has been one of the key features in British politics and has raised questions as to the likely survival of the United Kingdom in the post Brexit era. In Scotland, the SNP has been in government since 2007 and has established a political hegemony that makes it the most successful political party in terms of electoral politics in Europe. Yet, the political philosophy of this movement has not been studied in any great depth and a number of basic questions remain unanswered, such as why is the movement non-violent and constitutional? Why does it believe that Scotland as a nation should exercise its right to self-determination and how does it square a largely outward-looking and cosmopolitan vision of society with nationalism? This book answers these important questions. By examining the evolution of nationalist ideas on Scottish history, its relationship to the philosophy of nationalism, as well as how the Treaty of Union between Scotland and England created an unusual legal and constitutional framework, this book offers new insights into Scottish history and Scotland's place within the Union and relates it to wider international and imperial British history.

Download or read book The Battle for Britain written by David Torrance and published by Biteback Publishing. This book was released on 2013-11-12 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 18 September 2014, Scots will decide their future: should the country quit the United Kingdom and take control of its own destiny, or should it remain part of what advocates call the most successful political and economic union of modern times? Everyone in the country has a stake in this decision. Now, in this fascinating and insightful new book, David Torrance charts the countdown to the big day, weaving his way through a minefield of claim and counterclaim, and knocking down fictions and fallacies from both Nationalists and Unionists. He plunges into the key questions that have shaped an often-fraught argument, from the future of the pound to the shape of an independent Scottish army. With access to the strategists and opinion-makers on both sides of the political divide, this book goes straight to the heart of the great debate, providing an incisive, authoritative, occasionally trenchant guide to the most dramatic constitutional question of our times - the battle for Britain.

Download or read book These Islands written by Ali M. Ansari and published by Haus Publishing. This book was released on 2018-09-15 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following Brexit and the earlier referendum on Scottish independence, the debate about British identity has been given recent new prominence. Historically conceived to integrate conflicting nationalisms in an “ever more perfect union,” Britain has lately succumbed to particular resurgent nationalisms in a curious reversal of fortune. With These Islands, Ali M. Ansari considers the idea of Britain as a political entity. This idea of Britain considers some nationalists as suppressed minorities in need of attention, and others as bigoted throwbacks to a more divisive age. Arguing the case for Great Britain from the perspective of the political mythology of the British state—with an emphasis on culture, ideas and narrative constructions—Ansari makes the claim that Britain’s strength lies in its ability to shape the popular imagination, both at home and abroad. He concludes that an “excess of enthusiasm” may yet do untold damage to the fabric of a state and society that has been carefully constructed over the centuries and may not be easily repaired.

Download or read book Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot written by John Lloyd and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-03-24 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Scottish nationalists seek to end the United Kingdom after 300 years of a successful union. Their drive for an independent Scotland is now nearer to success than it has ever been. Success would mean a diminished Britain and a perilously insecure Scotland. The nationalists have represented the three centuries of union with England as a malign and damaging association for Scotland. The European Union is held out as an alternative and a safeguard for Scotland's future. But the siren call of secession would lure Scotland into a state of radical instability, disrupting ties of work, commerce and kinship and impoverishing the economy. All this with no guarantee of growth in an EU now struggling with a downturn in most of its states and the increasing disaffection of many of its members. In this incisive and controversial book, journalist John Lloyd cuts through the rhetoric to show that the economic plans of the Scottish National Party are deeply unrealistic; the loss of a subsidy of as much as £10 billion a year from the Treasury would mean large-scale cuts, much deeper than those effected by Westminster; the broadly equal provision of health, social services, education and pensions across the UK would cease, leaving Scotland with the need to recreate many of these systems on its own; and the claim that Scotland would join the most successful of the world's small states - as Denmark, New Zealand and Norway - is no more than an aspiration with little prospect of success. The alternative to independence is clear: a strong devolution settlement and a joint reform of the British union to modernise the UK's age-old structures, reduce the centralisation of power and boost the ability of all Britain's nations and regions to support and unleash their creative and productive potential. Scotland has remained a nation in union with three other nations - England, Northern Ireland and Wales. It will continue as one, more securely in a familiar companionship.

Download or read book Scottish Independence Yes or No written by Alan Cochrane and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2014-04-07 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In September 2014, a referendum will be held in Scotland to decide whether or not Scotland should become independent and cease to be part of the United Kingdom. In this book, two of the nation's leading political commentators will address both sides of this historic debate. George Kerevan will put forward the case for voting Yes, and Alan Cochrane will make the case for voting No. In this volume, the first title in this Great Debate series, the authors will present the distinctive arguments for both sides, fully preparing you to make up your own mind on a decision that will shape the future of Scotland and of Great Britain.

Download or read book Scotland Analysis written by Great Britain: Scotland Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-02-11 with total page 114 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The UK Government is undertaking a major cross-government programme of analysis prior to the referendum on Scottish independence in 2014. The aim is to provide a comprehensive and detailed analysis of Scotland's place in the UK. This paper, the first of a series to be published in 2013 and 2014, examines the UK's constitutional set-up and the legal implications of independence. The UK Government is convinced that the current devolution offers the best for Scotland: the Scottish Parliament and Government are empowered to take decisions on a range of domestic policy areas - such as health, education, policing - while Scotland continues to benefit from decisions made for the UK as a whole - defence and security, foreign representation, economic affairs. Independence is very different to devolution. Based on independent expert opinion (published as Annex A), the paper concludes that if there were to be a vote in favour of leaving the UK, Scotland would become an entirely new state whilst the remainder of the UK would continue as before, retaining the rights and obligations of the UK as it currently stands. Any separation would have to be negotiated between both governments. Legal and practical implications of independence, both at home and abroad, are addressed. An independent Scotland would have to apply to and/or negotiate to become a member of whichever international organisations it wished to join, including the EU and NATO. Scotland would also have to work through its positions on thousands of international treaties to which the UK is currently party.

Download or read book The Case for Scottish Independence written by Ben Jackson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-07-09 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scottish nationalism is a powerful movement in contemporary politics, yet the goal of Scottish independence emerged surprisingly recently into public debate. The origins of Scottish nationalism lie not in the medieval battles for Scottish statehood, the Acts of Union, the Scottish Enlightenment, or any other traditional historical milestone. Instead, an influential separatist Scottish nationalism began to take shape only in the 1970s and achieved its present ideological maturity in the course of the 1980s and 1990s. The nationalism that emerged from this testing period of Scottish history was unusual in that it demanded independence not to defend a threatened ancestral culture but as the most effective way to promote the agenda of the left. This accessible and engaging account of the political thought of Scottish nationalism explores how the arguments for Scottish independence were crafted over some fifty years by intellectuals, politicians and activists, and why these ideas had such a seismic impact on Scottish and British politics in the 2014 independence referendum.

Download or read book The Break Up of Britain written by Tom Nairn and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2021-06-22 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The classic text, with a new introduction by Anthony Barnett In this classic text, first published in 1977, Tom Nairn memorably depicts the “slow foundering” of the United Kingdom on the rocks of constitutional anachronism, its fall from empire and the gathering force of civic nationalism. Rich in comparisons between the nationalisms of the British Isles and those of the wider world, The Break-Up of Britain concludes by reflecting on the Janus-faced nature of national identity. Postscripts from the Thatcher and New Labour years trace the political strategies whose upshot accelerated the demise of a British order they were intended to serve. As a second Scottish independence referendum beckons, a new introduction by openDemocracy’s Anthony Barnett underlines the book’s enduring relevance.

Download or read book The Independence of Scotland written by Michael Keating and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2009-09-10 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After three hundred years, the Anglo-Scottish Union is in serious difficulty. This is not because of a profound cultural divide between England and Scotland but because recent decades have seen the rebuilding of Scotland as a political community while the ideology and practices of the old unionism have atrophied. Yet while Britishness is in decline, it has not been replaced by a dominant ideology of Scottish independence. Rather Scots are looking to renegotiate union to find a new place in the Isles, in Europe, and in the world. There are few legal, constitutional or political obstacles to Scottish independence, but an independent Scotland would need to forge a new social and economic project as a small nation in the global market-place, and there has been little serious thinking about the implications of this. Short of independence, there is a range of constitutional options for renegotiating the Union to allow more Scottish self-government on the lines that public opinion seems to favour. The limits are posed not by constitutional principles but by the unwillingness of English opinion to abandon their unitary conception of the state. The end of the United Kingdom may be provoked, not by Scottish nationalism, but by English unionism.

Download or read book Nation to Nation written by Stephen Gethins and published by Luath Press Ltd. This book was released on 2021-03-17 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scotland has a distinctive place in the world. Nation to Nation explores how this unique relationship with the rest of the world has developed over the years and how it manifests itself today. In this book Stephen Gethins combines his knowledge from years of work in the field - from the conflict zones of the former Soviet Union to the corridors of power in Westminster and Brussels - with insights from political, cultural and academic figures who have been at the heart of foreign policy in Scotland, the UK, Europe and North America. Gethins looks at Scotland's foreign policy to better inform the debate about our country's future and its relationships with its neighbours near and far.

Download or read book Scottish Independence written by Gavin McCrone and published by Birlinn Publishers. This book was released on 2013 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In autumn 2014 those living in Scotland will face the most important political decision of a lifetime. Whether Scotland becomes an independent state once again, as it was before 1707, or remains within the United Kingdom will have profound consequences for everyone in Britain. There are many issues involved in this important choice, but a key part of the debate centres around the question of whether Scotland would prosper more or less after independence. How well off are we? Would we have a faster or slower growing economy if we were independent? What currency would we use - the pound, the euro or a new currency of our own? What should our energy policy be? There are those who would like to see a more egalitarian society, like Scandinavia, with a reduction in poverty and deprivation; would we be likely to achieve that? Would we continue to be in the European Union but with Scotland becoming a member in its own right? Is that right for Scotland and what problems might that involve? In this impartial, clearly expressed and thought-provoking book, economist Gavin McCrone addresses these, and many other, questions which are of vital importance in the run up to the referendum.

Download or read book Wars of Scottish Independence written by Hourly History and published by . This book was released on 2019-11-18 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover the remarkable history of the Wars of Scottish Independence...The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of conflicts between Scotland and England that spanned more than sixty years during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. These wars led directly to the establishment of Scotland as an independent, sovereign country and to the emergence of two of Scotland's best-known national heroes, William Wallace and Robert the Bruce. Yet these wars are much more than a simple struggle on the part of Scotland to free itself from English incursions. Some of the men who became kings of Scotland during this period were not just opposed to Scottish independence-they were directly sponsored by the English king. These wars are not only a story of Scotland versus England; they had complex causes and a large cast of characters with motives that were not always clear and who sometimes changed sides more than once. These wars also have a close connection with the wars being fought by England against France at the same time which gave rise to the Auld Alliance, a friendly connection between France and Scotland that persists to the present day. This is the complex, complicated, and occasionally tragic story of sixty of the most turbulent years in British history. This is the story of the Wars of Scottish Independence. Discover a plethora of topics such as The Succession Crisis William Wallace's War Robert the Bruce An Uneasy Peace The Pretender to the Throne Return of the King And much more! So if you want a concise and informative book on the Wars of Scottish Independence, simply scroll up and click the "Buy now" button for instant access!

Download or read book My Scotland Our Britain written by Gordon Brown and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-06-19 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: My Scotland, Our Britain: A Future Worth Sharingis a highly personal account of Gordon Brown's Scotland, the nation he was born in, and our Britain, the multinational state that the Scots, English, Welsh and Northern Irish have created and share. Laying bare his family's ancestry over 300 years of the Union and explaining how it shaped his background, Brown charts what it was like growing up in Scotland in the 1950s and 1960s, and explains the influence of religion, education and Scotland's unique industrial structure on the shaping of his and Scotland's identity. He sets out the dramatic economic, social and cultural changes of the past fifty years and the vastly different prospects his children will face, demonstrating that a sense of Scottish national identity has always remained strong and how Scottish institutions have always fiercely guarded their independence. The referendum should not be seen as a battle between Scotland and Britain, he argues, but one between two visions of Scotland's future: one that sees Scotland prosper with a strong Scottish Parliament that is part of the UK, and one that severs all the political links Scots have with the UK. Brown puts forward his proposal for a constitutional settlement that could unite the country, and argues that in tune with Scotland's history of deep engagement with the wider world -as inventors, explorers, traders, missionaries, business leaders and aid workers -the best future for Scots is not to leave Britain, but to continue to shape it.