Scotland and Independence

Résumé du document

The issue of independence in Scotland has raised the crowd for many centuries. It has been advocated by many political movements that desire the secession of Scotland from the United Kingdom. I chose this topic as it has been hotly debated over the last few months in Scotland because of the election of the Scottish Parliament, on 3rd May, 2007. Indeed, the Scottish National Party (SNP) which is in favor of Independence has been very present in the election campaign and finally won it ahead of the Labor party which was governing for the last 40 years. This event has been precisely covered by the world media because of this particularity. The relationship between England and Scotland has always been very adversarial, and has been revealed through many wars and rebellions between those two countries, and today through a strong anti-English feeling from the Scots. The question of independence is far from new. Like the Irish, the Scots have a very strong identity. This allows them to survive as a particular folk. But whereas the Irish independence was lead with tears and fights, this one seems to happen with an accurate conscience of the risks and the benefits of it. Seen from outside, the main question is why the question of independence arises now, while Scotland is profiting widely from the United Kingdom through subsidies, and political, military and business power of this union? The reasons could of course be found in history. Scotland has remained a society with a proper culture, though they united with England by the Act of Union. Events show how the relationships between these two countries have been built, either in co-operation or in exploitation. This has lead to the present conditions. Why has the situation of Scotland, which was accepted for so many years now become unbearable for a large part of the population? Is it because Scotland is getting organized, on the political and economic levels? It will have to be discussed through the different organizations and people who take charge of the ideology of a free Scottish land. Considering that a country like Montenegro acceded to independence, a Scottish nation seems to be a reasonable project. The last part will show how Scottish independents consider the future of a proper nation. The feasibility of the actual implementation of independence will thus be assessed thanks to an evaluation by areas and a comparison with other small European countries.

Extraits

[...] Scottish culture is thus well known around the world, and while tourists expect from Scotland a certain culture and wilderness, the feeling of being a strong and significant society grows up. Opponents If Scotland did not obtain yet its independence, it is because there is still a large number of opponents and indecisive people. The movement is not as structured and developed as the one of pro-independence. People who contend that Scotland should remain in the United Kingdom in its present structure are gathered under the term “Unionists”. [...]

[...] The most important independent party remains the Scottish National Party, as the last election showed with the majority of MSPs hold by them. Their policy is based on three key points: economy, natural resources and international representation. They loud an independent economy where they could decide about taxes and business policies, in order to make Scotland more competitive. About the second point, “it's our became their main motto, since oil represents a large financial and energy reserve. Above that, they want to develop their own natural resources such as wind and tide energies. [...]

[...] That will overcome after an eventual independence. This movement is obviously supported by the major political parties which are in favour of Scottish independence, as for example the Scottish National Party and the Scottish Socialist Party. However, other individuals and groups, including the Celtic League, have given their support. Their action is mainly done through demonstrations and public petitions. Tourist area Together with politicians and associations, tourism is an important actor on the way to independence on two levels. On one side it put forward Scottish identity, on the other side, it is an essential economic factor to the development of the country. [...]

[...] III / Has scottish independence have a “tomorrow” ? If countries such as Malta, with a population less than Edinburgh's, can self-governing, supporters of independence believe that there is no reason why Scotland shouldn't'[9] International background Benchmarks to access independence Few countries, which recently reached independence, could be looked as benchmarks for the economic and environmental development. Some Scottish plans present similarities with the Icelandic policy, country which became independent from Denmark in 1944. Scotland would follow Iceland in improving the renewable energies. [...]

[...] This latter author portrayed the Scottish life of the 19th century and his writing had a disproportionate effect on the public perception of the “authentic Scottish culture”, by making Tartan and kilts national symbols of Scotland. This period of prosperity in Scotland had been sullied by the First World War. Scotland suffered mainly from the wide human losses. Indeed, the British Army recruited a disproportionate number of people from the Highlands, which led to the loss of a whole generation of young men. [...]