CHAPTER 4 SCOTLAND’S SEPARATISM IN THE CONTEXT OF
4.1 Argumentations Presented by SNP
4.1.5 The Cultural Case
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would not be far behind. Therefore, Scotland’s entry into the EU would still be met with obstacles and would not be as smooth an entry as the SNP argues.
4.1.5 The Cultural Case
The cultural case presented by the SNP is not the same as cultural nationalism. Cultural nationalism is defined to be, “the promotion of a particular cultural tradition held to define a national identity.”283 In 19th century Europe, romantic nationalism was the most common form of nationalism as exemplified by the various separatist movements discussed in this thesis considering separatist movements in Spain, Italy and Belgium originated from this period and found their separatist roots in romantic nationalism.284
The concept of culture for romantic nationalism was based and located in a distinctive language which was deemed to be socially inferior to the language of the central government.285 Benedict Anderson notes along the same lines that national identity was created through “unified fields of exchange and communications” in vernacular languages.286 Scholars in this field demonstrated that by having the same language, not only will there be the invention of national identity, but also, diverse regions become more unified and are increasingly linked both economically and through the exchange of ideas.287 In addition to this, 19th century Germany placed emphasis on the importance of collective solidarity within the nation founding
283 Maxwell, S. (2012), Evidence, Risk and the Wicked Issues: Arguing for Independence, Edinburgh: Luath Press (Viewpoint), p. 139
284 Stratfor, “Europe Rediscovers Nationalism,” Financial Sense, January 15th 2015,
http://www.financialsense.com/contributors/stratfor/europe-rediscovers-nationalism [Last Accessed: November 30th 2015]
285 Maxwell, S. (2012), Evidence, Risk and the Wicked Issues: Arguing for Independence, Edinburgh: Luath Press (Viewpoint), p. 139
286 Anderson, B. (1991), Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, London:
Verso
287 Levinger, M. (2000), Enlightened Nationalism: The Transformation of Prussian Political Culture, 1806-1848, Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press
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nationalism.288 It can be implied that “collective solidarity” could constitute the separatist movements which arose in the romantic nationalism period.
Out of all the European countries in the romantic nationalism era, Scotland could be deemed to be the one that contained all the ideological ingredients to create a nationalist movement.289 Scotland had a historical nation since they already held a place in history as an independent and viable political community, compared to the other nations vying for nationalism.
Historical events, such as “the Reformation in the 16th century, the loss of the Scottish Court in 1603, and of Scotland’s Parliament a century later, to the steady erosion of Scotland’s surviving institutions of civil society by empire, industrialization and mass communications,”290 led to Scotland being a ground perfect for establishing collective solidarity and establishing an interrelated linguistically-based culture capable of forming a national identity. However, Scotland lost its chance for a linguistic revival as it was out of history and eventually, Scotland’s intellectual elite became Anglo-British.291
Therefore, cultural nationalism cannot be advocated by the SNP considering history estopped this argument. Rather than promoting a cultural tradition which defines national identity for Scotland, the SNP advocated it in a different manner in which they targeted the communications and digital sectors to back up their argument. The rationale behind targeting these sectors were because the SNP felt that the Westminster Parliament have not been taking Scotland into account when they made their decisions like the privatization of the Royal Mail.
The privatization of the Royal Mail was faced with an overwhelming opposition from Scottish MPs considering according to analysts at the bank Canaccord Genuity, the Royal Mail was sold
288 Levinger, M. (2000), Enlightened Nationalism: The Transformation of Prussian Political Culture, 1806-1848, Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press
289 Kidd, C. (2003), Subverting Scotland’s Past: Scottish Whig Historians and the Creation of an Anglo-British Identity 1689-1830, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
290 Maxwell, S. (2012), Evidence, Risk and the Wicked Issues: Arguing for Independence, Edinburgh: Luath Press (Viewpoint), p. 139
291 McCracken-Flesher, C. (2007), Culture, Nation, and the New Scottish Parliament, Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press, p. 28
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off around 80% more than the value that the government was floating it at292 causing a deficit of 180 million pounds for the taxpayer.293 In addition to this blow to Scotland, when 3G mobile services were auctioned in 2000, a Scottish coverage target was not set, despite the efforts of the Scottish Government, therefore, Scotland currently has the lowest 3G coverage of the four UK nations and coverage in rural Scotland drops to as low as 92 per cent.294 Therefore, the arguments from the SNP for the cultural case are deep rooted in the culture, communications and digital sectors.
For the cultural case for Scotland’s independence, the SNP will have to substantially illustrate that independence will be able to improve the environment for the various forms of cultural activity in which Scots choose to follow and their relations to traditional understandings of the identity of Scotland.295 The SNP detailed in their White Paper that they will promote and support the culture and heritage of Scotland, for both their intrinsic value and the benefits in which they could bring to Scotland.296 The SNP propounds that the Scottish Government is already doing its best to preserve and promote the culture, creative industries and historic environment for Scotland, both at home and internationally. The example that they gave was that they have already protected these sectors from the level of cuts made by the Westminster Parliament to show their commitment to promoting the cultural heritage of Scotland. The SNP reiterates that Scotland has a strong and vibrant culture and names this as one of Scotland’s most powerful assets. They explain that the rich heritage and creative communities are what define Scotland’s past, present and future. For example, Adam Smith (moral philosopher) and Charles Rennie Mackintosh (architect), just to name a few, were prominent in their contributions to the culture and creative industries of Scottish society and internationally as well. Even until today,
292 “Why is the Royal Mail Being Privatised?” The Economist, October 10th 2013,
http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/10/economist-explains-9 [Last Accessed: November 30th 2015]
293 Heath, A., “Royal Mail’s Privatization Will Help to Make the UK Economy More Efficient,” December 18th 2014, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11302648/Royal-Mails-privatisation-will-help-to-make-the-UK-economy-more-efficient.html [Last Accessed: November 30th 2015]
294 The Availability of Communications Services in the UK, 2013,
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/markets-infrastructure/economic-geography.pdf [Last Accessed:
November 30th 2015]
295 Maxwell, S. (2012), Evidence, Risk and the Wicked Issues: Arguing for Independence, Edinburgh: Luath Press (Viewpoint), p. 140
296 White Paper, Scotland’s Future: Your Guide to an Independent Scotland, p. 308
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the works of famous Scottish scholars, artists, architects, poets, are displayed and shown to the world297 or institutes have been founded in their name.298 The SNP seeks to protect the treasures that Scotland already has and promote newly discovered talent.
Furthermore, the SNP promise that the cultural strength of Scotland will lie in the areas which are currently reserved to Westminster, such as broadcasting. They plan to set up a Scottish Broadcasting Service which will work with the BBC in a joint venture to provide TV, radio and online services to the people of Scotland. Evidence has been produced to suggest that Scottish people would like to access more Scottish programs alongside the best programs produced by the rest of the UK and the world.299 Additionally, the Scottish Parliament has already unanimously agreed on the recommendations of the Scottish Commission on Broadcasting for a Scottish Digital Network providing a public service network and an online hub costing 2% of the BBC’s annual income from its license fee.300 They uphold that the existing licenses for broadcasters in Scotland will be fully maintained and honored.
However, this argument was not taken to well by UK’s broadcasters and policy makers as the right of broadcasting is currently reserved to the Westminster Parliament. Even in the event that an independent Scotland does have a public service broadcasting channel and this could lead to Scottish printed media being created, there would be much difficulty faced on this path.
Precedent of what occurred during devolution to Scotland illustrated that there was a failure to stimulate the recovery of Scottish print even after devolution happened. This was due to the competition faced against the London-based papers and the growth of digitalization where the internet made news and articles easily accessible. At a time where the world is advancing into a paperless state, finding investors for the creation of Scottish papers will be highly improbable.301 It cannot be expected of Scotland to immediately fill the gaps and completely stimulate the arts
297 Wainwright, O., “Mackmania! Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Genuis Shines in His First Architecture
Retrospective,” The Guardian, February 11th 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/feb/11/charles-rennie-mackintoshs-genius-shines-in-his-first-ever-retrospective [Last Accessed: November 30th 2015]
298 “About Us,” Adam Smith Institute, http://www.adamsmith.org/about-us/ [Last Accessed: November 30th 2015]
299 Public Attitudes to Broadcasting in Scotland, http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/01/21104900/0, [Last Accessed: November 30th 2015]
300 Platform for Success (2009), Scottish Government Commission on Scottish Broadcasting
301 Maxwell, S. (2012), Evidence, Risk and the Wicked Issues: Arguing for Independence, Edinburgh: Luath Press (Viewpoint), p. 141
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sector if independence did transpire. A “vibrant film industry, a flourishing dance scene, a dynamic architecture and a world-beating publishing and video games sector”302 cannot be anticipated to be developed overnight and it by no means can be compared to the capital of London, considering the funding and reputation for London and Scotland differ drastically.303 Under the cultural case, Scotland can only hope to prevent London from gaining more power than it already has and to avert London from governing over Scotland’s territory and population.