As the vote on Scottish Independence draws near, the people of Scotland are being faced with difficult choices. They are being asked to decide in favour of independence and its attached risks, or to reject it for some alternative, lesser, additional freedoms within the Union - held out as a counter offer by the Conservative Party, that Scotland has little reason to trust, having been burned before (Robinson, 2014).
Scotland, on the one hand, is being lectured on the dangers of gambling financially on independence. On the other, it is being given demonstrations of unity - like those happening this evening in London (Nelson, 2014) and the far more controversial Orange Order march on Edinburgh over the weekend (Brooks & Carrell, 2014) - in which they are regaled with stories of sacrifice and bonds of tradition, all calling for a renewal of British patriotism rather than choosing to embrace Scottish nationalism.
Any way it turns, Scotland is being warned that it can't have everything.
Scotland faces difficulties with Britain,
primarily over money. While First Minister Alex Salmond has repeatedly
expressed a willingness to work with Britain, in a spirit of openness
and cooperation even after independence, these overtures have repeatedly
been met with negativity.
What currency will they use?
Westminster makes the pound sound unlikely. Who pays for what part of the national debt? Westminster will want Scotland to take its share. What about the North Sea
oil? Westminster will want a cut. What about the Trident nuclear defence
program? Westminster thinks it too expensive to remove from Scottish
soil. None of these are simple matters to address (Traynor et al, 2014).
Salmond has also openly stated that he wants Scotland to take a seat within the European Union. Yet it faces difficulties with the EU, as member states do not want to offer any encouragement to independence movements in their own countries. This is a particularly thorny issue at present for Spain, where their has been agitation in the Catalan country for independence (Burgen, 2014).
Citizens of other European states have even moved to offer warnings against separatism. Some certainly feel that the 'velvet divorce', the peaceful disentanglement of the Czech and Slovak republics from Czechoslovakia, might have been a mistake (Seifter, 2014). The argument goes that separation resulted in a problematic loss of identity, prestige and negotiating power on the world stage.
All of these arguments against independence seem to come as, either, careful pragmatisms - averse to any sort of risk - or as a warning against upsetting another nation's interests.
The financial situation is clearly a challenge, but one that can be overcome. By taking it on, there is a possibility of reshaping those finances around provincial priorities rather than trying to eke them out from within those of a separate set of provinces, with their own problems and priorities (Jenkins, 2014).
The entry into Europe is also far from an insurmountable problem, and one that is known from the beginning to be a political creation. It is a conflict of interest with other EU member states, that stand to lose prestige if independence movements within their own borders flourish, that stands between Scotland and a fast-tracked entry into the European fold.
Even the regrets of some over the Czechoslovakian split are based on outcomes that are not systemic to small nation-states, nor the products particularly of separatism. Nationalisms, extremisms, fascisms, and the flawed and simplistic politics of identity; all of these things are a product of difficult times endured by individuals with little support and little hope, in many countries, not just of Europe, but of the whole world.
The question, then, comes down to the matter of difference between union and independence. The primary differences for Scotland, between autonomous government within the Union and sovereign government with independence, will be control over their own economy, and a separation and distancing of the identity Scottish, from the identity British.
With independence they will have a government closer to the people affected by its decisions (5 million people, rather than 60 million), and potentially, in federation with Europe, solidarity with an entire continent rather than just an island. With continued union, there is status quo - security offered by Westminster, and an extension to autonomy.
The ideal of independence is self-determination. That we should be ruled by ourselves alone, and not from some distant palace. The question always comes down to where you draw the line. At 5 million people with a common language and history? At 60 million people with a language or two in common and an intertwined history?
The pragmatic talk against independence has been warnings of dire economic risks, and denouncements of petty nationalism. But it all seems so very
unnecessary. It is reasonable that different regions have different needs, and divided can better
debate their own, address them and represent them. But that division does not have to be about severing
connections and building up walls, and closing borders, between peoples.
Independence can be about
moving the powers over local and provincial lives to the localities and the provinces, and
of engaging those localities more directly with federal organisations of
a much larger scale - for example, with the EU. A much more local and personal government, involving its people and connecting them with a much wider community. The best of both worlds.
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References:
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+ Nick Robinson's 'Scotland - Vote No and get something better?'; on the BBC; 8 September 2014.
+ Fraser Nelson's 'UK #unity2014 rally announced: Trafalgar Square, 6pm on Monday'; in The Spectator; 12 September 2014.
+ Libby Brooks & Severin Carrell's 'Orange Order anti-independence march a 'show of pro-union strength''; in The Guardian; 13 September 2014.
+ Ian Traynor, Katie Allen, Tom Clark, Claire Phipps, Terry Macalister, Robert Booth & Ewen MacAskill's 'If Scotland votes for independence: the key questions answered'; in The Guardian; 9 September 2014.
+ Stephen Burgen's 'Catalans to demonstrate and demand right to hold referendum'; in The Guardian; 11 September 2014.
+ Pavel Seifter's 'Czechs and Slovaks were better together'; in The Guardian; 9 September 2014.
+ Simon Jenkins' 'Scottish independence: A yes vote will produce a leaner, meaner Scotland'; in The Guardian; 4 September 2014.
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