Acceso usuarios
David Pimenta
In a post-Brexit political context and after the sixth election in history for the Scottish Parliament, where the pro-independence parties won a majority, it is vital to understand the Scottish nationalism phenomenon. In this sense, The Case for Scottish Independence: A History of Nationalist Political Thought in Modern Scotland presents itself as a major and recent account of the intellectual development of contemporary Scottish nationalism.
The author Ben Jackson, an Associate Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford, is a long-time researcher on Scottish nationalism and his book, published in 2020, evolved after the writing of two key articles in 2014 –the year highlighted by the independence referendum.
Ben Jackson starts his case by stating that the origins of Scottish nationalism are not medieval, but, in fact, they have seen the light of day in political movements of the 20th century, gaining prominence in the 1960s and 1970s, and maturing in the 1980s and 1990s. Also, the author points out that the uniqueness of this form of civic nationalism is not focused on ethnicity matters but instead motivated by the creation of a new Scottish state, independent from the uk neoliberal political agenda that arguably fails to protect Scotland’s best interests.
