The Growth Of Nationalism In Scotland

Traces the development of the ideology of modern Scottish nationalism from the 1960s to the independence referendum in 2014.

Originally published in 1978, but now re-issued with a new Preface by James Mitchell, this volume traces the rise of the SNP, with special emphasis on explaining the increase of the National Party vote in Scotland from the early 1960s to the late 1970s. The book draws much of its information from interviews with members and ex-members of the SNP, including some who helped to found the party in 1928. In describing the movement and giving an account of its main features, the author begins with a discussion of various aspects of Scottish society which have contributed to the growth of nationalism. These include the political developments of the Labour movement, the economic history of 20th Century Scotland the development of youth culture and in particular, the interest in folk music, as well as developments in the Church, the army, and the press.

The rise and spectacular growth of Nationalist movements in Scotland and Wales has transformed the British political scene overnight. It seems possible--indeed probable--that both countries will return a large body of Nationalist M.P.s to Westminster at the next general election; and, if they do, Home Rule in one form or another is surely inevitable? In the circumstances, Professor Hanham's lively, sympathetic and very well informed account of Scottish Nationalism could hardly be more timely. As he points out, Scotland is a state within a state. With a national church, a distinctive legal system, the Scottish banks, a separate administration and a peculiarly Scottish system of local government, Scotland stands apart from England and has done so since the Union of 1707. The majority of Scots and Scottish M.P.s supported Home Rule for Scotland from 1892 down to the First World War and for some time afterwards; and when Home Rule did not come, a nationalist movement developed, which has had a continuous existence since 1918. And there have been three nationalist 'revivals'--at the beginning of the 1930s, at the beginning of the 1950s, and since 1966. The first Scottish National Party M.P. was elected in 1945, the second in 1967. That there will be many more before long seems certain.

First published in 1977, Scotland and Nationalism, Christopher Harvie's acclaimed study of Scottish culture and politics since the Union of 1707, has been extensively rewritten to bring the story entirely up-to-date, drawing on the remarkable output of Scottish historians and writers in more recent years. A new chapter discusses the whole of the Referendum and Devolution, and a rewritten last chapter examines topics like the Dunblane massacre, forms of popular culture, and the development of nationalist feeling in a wider cultural context. Beneath the political level, but interacting with it, Harvie sees the evolution of a "civic republicanism" which, unless checked by real measures of federalism, renders the future of the Union unpromising.

The rise and spectacular growth of Nationalist movements in Scotland and Wales has transformed the British political scene. Hanham's lively, sympathetic and very well informed account of Scottish Nationalism could hardly be more timely.

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