The Case for Scottish Independence: The Political Thought of Scottish Nationalism, c. 1960-2014

Описание: For more information, please visit: https://www.cambridge.org/9781108793186

Since the Scottish referendum in 2014, Scottish nationalism has emerged as a genuine mass movement for the first time in Scottish history. Currently, nationalism not only dominates Scottish politics at Holyrood and Westminster, it also mobilises large numbers of activists throughout Scotland and the Scottish diaspora.

This book will be a fresh, original and up to date examination of the politics of Scottish nationalism, written in a readable style for students, researchers, politicians and anyone else interested in modern Scottish identity and politics. In particular, the book examines the ideas of Scottish nationalism, investigating how the key arguments for Scottish independence were crafted by intellectuals, politicians and activists in the fifty years or so before the 2014 referendum. The book argues that the roots of Scottish nationalism lie in the decades after the 1960s and not in the distant past of the Acts of Union or the Scottish Enlightenment.

The nationalism that emerged from this testing period of Scottish history was unusual, in that it did not primarily demand independence for Scotland in order to defend a threatened ancestral culture. Instead, Scottish nationalists emphasised that independence was the most effective way to promote the political agenda of the left in a neo-liberal era. The book explains why this version of the goal of Scottish independence became more persuasive over this period by illuminating the driving forces behind this seismic change.

Born and raised north of the border but currently living in England, Ben Jackson possesses both an insider’s and an outsider’s view of Scottish politics which adds strength to his analysis, enabling him to create a book which will become essential reading for anyone interested in modern Scotland.

The title will also be available in print via bookshops and online retailers.