There Shall Be An Independent Scotland: British And Scottish Nationalism After The 2014 #Indyref
By Malory Nye
()
About this ebook
Scottish independence is one of the most significant political debates that has taken place within the UK nation's three hundred year history.
There shall be an independent Scotland, one day.
In all the talk of the 'dust settling' on the issue following the result of the #Indyref in September 2014, it is in fact clear that there is no settled will, and that after the referendum things in Scotland will never be the same again. Everything is still up for grabs, and Malory Nye's prediction is that the issue of independence will be resolved at some point. The real question is whether it will be sooner or later: it may take twenty to thirty years or it may come sooner.
This book is a collection of Nye's thoughts and writings around this topic — including a number of previously published blog posts from the Huffington Post and Medium — in which he tries to find his own way through the entanglements and representations of national identity. Much of this has focused on the 'rise' of Scottish nationalism, whilst quietly ignoring that other nationalism, the love that dares not speak its own name.
That is, the elephant in the room of British nationalism.
Using various examples from the London Olympics, Downton Abbey, Wolf Hall, the First Continental (US) Congress, and more, Nye takes us through some of the muddy waters of the contemporary United Kingdom. A unity of nationalisms that needs to find new ways of living at ease with itself. For Nye, this will inevitably lead to a British regionalism that enables Scots and other Brits to be independent on their own terms.
Malory Nye
MALORY NYE is a writer and independent scholar with research interests in the areas of multiculturalism, religious and cultural diversity, and contemporary society.He is a Research Scholar at the Ronin Institute.He is the author of three books, including Religion: the Basics, which he is currently revising for its third edition. He has edited the journal Culture and Religion since 2000, and he blogs on his website, the Huffington Post, and Medium, and he contributes to the Vidoyen expert video site. He is also currently preparing several courses for the online learning platform Udemy.He has a lifelong passion for the changing landscape of higher eduction, academic life, and the sharing of knowledge. He has recently begun a new podcast series on iTunes titled Religion Bites, together with his podcast Malory Nye: writer & academic.He lives in Perth, Scotland with his wife and two of his five children.
Related to There Shall Be An Independent Scotland
Related ebooks
Scotland: The new state of an old nation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Kingdom to Come: Thoughts on the Union before and after the Scottish Independence Referendum Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Origins of Scottish Nationhood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Higher World: Scotland 1707–1815 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Wee Blue Book Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Eighteenth-Century Ireland (New Gill History of Ireland 4): The Isle of Slaves – The Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLiverpool Irish Famine Trail: Revive Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPeriods of European History Period V: 1598-1715 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLena Ashwell: Actress, Patriot, Pioneer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGPO Staff in 1916: Business As Usual Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Hidden History of the Boston Irish: Little-Known Stories from Ireland's "Next Parish Over" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHistory of the United States Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCromwell Against the Scots: The Last Anglo-Scottish War, 1650–1652 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsClydeside: Red, Orange and Green Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWorld War I Day by Day Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThose Terrible Grey Horses: An Illustrated History of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brian Boru and the Battle of Clontarf Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bonnie Prince Charlie : a Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ireland and the Monarchy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Diary of the Crimea Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Guns of the Northeast: Costal Defences from the Tyne to the Humber Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA History of County Wexford: A comprehensive study of Wexford's history, culture and people Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLord Palmerston Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEvents, Dear Boy, Events: A Political Diary of Britain 1921-2010 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBenjamin Disraeli: Life & Words Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe History of the 2nd Dragoons 'Royal Scots Greys' Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTracing Your Docker Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Historiography of Gladstone and Disraeli Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Power and the Glory: Royal Navy Fleet Reviews from Earliest Times to 2005 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Irish Parliamentary Party at Westminster, 1900–18 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Politics For You
Fear: Trump in the White House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A People's History of the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Republic by Plato Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Palestine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Closing of the American Mind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Capitalism and Freedom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on the U.S.-Israeli War on the Palestinians Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great Reset: And the War for the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 1]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The U.S. Constitution with The Declaration of Independence and The Articles of Confederation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Killing the SS: The Hunt for the Worst War Criminals in History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unhumans: The Secret History of Communist Revolutions (and How to Crush Them) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daily Stoic: A Daily Journal On Meditation, Stoicism, Wisdom and Philosophy to Improve Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Cult of Trump: A Leading Cult Expert Explains How the President Uses Mind Control Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ever Wonder Why?: And Other Controversial Essays Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blackout: How Black America Can Make Its Second Escape from the Democrat Plantation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great Awakening: Defeating the Globalists and Launching the Next Great Renaissance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for There Shall Be An Independent Scotland
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
There Shall Be An Independent Scotland - Malory Nye
THERE SHALL BE AN INDEPENDENT SCOTLAND
BRITISH AND SCOTTISH NATIONALISM AFTER THE 2014 #INDYREF
Malory Nye
Perth St Johns Press at Smashwords
more from Malory Nye on:
malorynye.com
Copyright © Malory Nye (2015) All rights reserved.
Smashwords Edition License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Other books by Malory Nye
Religion the Basics (2nd edition) (2008, first edition 2003)
Multiculturalism and Minority Religions in Britain (2001)
A Place for our Gods (1996)
Time for Change Report (2006, co-authored with Abd al-Fattah El-Awaisi)
Contents
What this book is about
Chapter 1. Why I wrote this book
Part One. British nationalism, Scottish nationalism
Chapter 2. Introduction: There shall be an independent Scotland
Chapter 3. British, Scottish, and English nationalism: The problems of nation and identity in the United Kingdom
Chapter 4. What does it mean to be British? why the British may one day learn to be more like the Scandinavians
Part Two. Scotland in multicultural Britain
Chapter 5. 'Leftie multicultural cr*p' it was not: but did the London Olympics opening ceremony give us the legacy of diversity that we need?
Chapter 6. Multicultural Britain 2.0 is the best answer to Ukip: we need to learn how to live at ease with our diversity
Chapter 7. Downton Abbey and the rise of Ukip: soft nationalism and the politics of nostalgia
Chapter 8. British nationalism: a love that dares not speak its own name
Part Three. Historical reflections
Chapter 9. The Treaty of Perpetual Peace, 1502
Chapter 10. Looking for ourselves in Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall: the ongoing fascination for histories of Tudors, Stewarts, and the Protestant Reformations in Scotland and England
Chapter 11. The declarations made by the city of Perth against the Union in 1707
Chapter 12. Eleven reasons why Scotland should remember Henry Dundas: from slave trading to empire building
Chapter 13. Scotland's #Indyref: some historic reflections on Devo-max and independence from Britain
Part Four. Getting ready for the #Indyref, September 2014
Chapter 14. The issue with Scottish independence is not 'Yes' or 'No': it is when and how
Chapter 15. While Cameron pleads for us to keep it in the family, Scotland sings 'I want to break free'...
Part Five. After the #Indyref: There shall be an independent Scotland
Chapter 16. The day after yesterday (the day after the referendum)
Chapter 17. I voted Yes to an independent Scotland… and I look forward to the day when it happens
Chapter 18. 'Dear Generation Yes': an open letter to the new generation who hoped for Scottish independence
Chapter 19. Conclusion: imagine an independent Scotland
About the author
WHAT IS THIS BOOK ABOUT?
The 2014 Scottish #Indyref and its aftermath is, perhaps, the most significant political debate that has taken place within the UK nation's three hundred year history.
In all the talk in September 2014 of the 'dust settling' on the issue, it is in fact clear that there is no settled will, and that after the referendum things in Scotland will never be the same again. Everything is still up for grabs, and Malory Nye's prediction is that the issue of independence will be resolved at some point. The real question is whether it will be sooner or later: it may take twenty to thirty years or it may come sooner.
But there shall be an independent Scotland, one day.
This book is a collection of Nye's thoughts and writings around this topic — including a number of previously published blog posts from the Huffington Post and Medium — in which he tries to find his own way through the entanglements and representations of national identity. Much of this has focused on the 'rise' of Scottish nationalism, whilst quietly ignoring that other nationalism, the love that dares not speak its own name.
That is, the elephant in the room of British nationalism.
In sum, the #Indyref was about people who shared these two (competing) nationalisms, trying to work out where they would prefer to stand. For Nye, the outcome would not be the loss of any British identity — even with Scottish independence — since being British is as much a regional identity (akin to being Scandinavian) as it is something to define which passport a person holds.
Using various examples from the London Olympics, Downton Abbey, Wolf Hall, the First Continental (US) Congress, and more, Nye takes us through some of the muddy waters of the contemporary United Kingdom. A unity of nationalisms that needs to find new ways of living at ease with itself. For Nye, this will inevitably lead to a British regionalism that enables Scots and other Brits to be independent on their own terms.
CHAPTER 1
WHY I WROTE THIS BOOK
In all honesty, I never thought I would write such a book on Scottish independence.
As someone from an English family (my parents came from the south east, in Essex and Kent), it surprises me that I have felt moved to express my opinions on the issue of Scottish national identity.
I have always thought of myself as British. I spent much of my childhood in rural North Wales. Although I was born in mid-Wales, I grew up with a clear 'saes' (English) identity that I never lost. (Likewise, my English accent has stayed with me through my travels.)
I have now spent much of my adult life in Scotland, first as a PhD student in Edinburgh, and then, after a short return to London in the early 1990s, I have lived in Scotland continuously since 1995 — in Dunblane, Dundee, and most recently in Perth. Perhaps most importantly, my children are all native Scots (even those who were born in England).
And so after this developing process of my life (made up of accidents of circumstances and also a series of choices that have made up my life), I have found myself living through the debate about Scottish independence. This is, perhaps, the most significant political debate that has taken place within the UK nation's three hundred year history.
It has given me the chance... No, it has forced me to think about what the ideas of national identity, of being British, Scottish, English and more might mean, and how these fit together within the jigsaw of contemporary British cultural life. And as I started off in this process, I discovered that it was not enough to talk about being British in terms of nationality and citizenship alone.
Yes, it is helpful to have it defined on a passport that I am more than the sum of my English, Welsh, and Scottish identities. But if I held a different passport then that would not change the issue of being British. And more importantly, a national boundary between Scotland and northern England would not change the immense cultural (and historical) ties between the various nations. We would all still be British, it would just force us to find new ways of thinking about what that meant to us.
In short I have put this book together out of my frustration at the result of the 2014 Indyref. It was a lost opportunity for a political change that would have brought far more benefit than harm to Scotland. But it was also a very important stepping stone on the inevitable path to Scottish independence.
And when that eventually happens, the regional family of nations that is Britain will live more comfortably with each other. Or at least, I hope we can do that. After all, we will all still be British.
Malory Nye, Perth, 23 April 2015
PART ONE
BRITISH NATIONALISM
SCOTTISH NATIONALISM
CHAPTER 2
INTRODUCTION: THERE SHALL BE AN INDEPENDENT SCOTLAND
In the last part of September 2014, I heard a lot of talk about the 'settled will' of the