Nationalism, unionism and secession in Scotland

On 30 November 2009, the nationalist government of Scotland published a white paper providing for a referendum on independence (Scottish Government 2009c) and, 16 months later, was elected by a stunning majority. This represented the culmination of a 40-year campaign to put this issue to the forefront of the Scottish political agenda, starting with the nationalist revival of the 1960s, and might prefigure the break-up of Britain, were it not for the strange circumstance that support for independence in Scotland had actually been falling. In a longer perspective, the question of Scotland’s constitutional status has always been open.