The Case for Scottish Independence: A History of Nationalist Political Thought in Modern Scotland

"This is the most recent. It’s a history of nationalist political thought in modern Scotland. It’s absolutely fantastic. Jackson brings together the work of people like Nairn—those that came before him and those that came since. Jackson illustrates not the changing nature of Scotland as touched on by Devine—the changing societal and cultural aspects—nor the changing political and policy aspects highlighted so well by Mitchell—but how the case for Scottish independence has changed over time. If there’s anything that political movements love to do, it’s argue about what their objectives are. The thing you must remember about Scottish nationalism, and Jackson touches on this, is that it represents itself as left, or left-of-centre. Many of its adherents are very firmly on the left. And indeed, you must not make the mistake of equating the SNP with Scottish nationalism; they are only part of the Scottish nationalist movement. They’re the big one in the room, but there are other parties. What Jackson does, and I think he does well, is show the evolution of the arguments about why Scotland should be independent. At various times there have been strong pushes for Scotland to be self-governed, or to have ‘Devo Max’, and people have also spoken, historically about Home Rule. Now, of course, the big focus is on independence—on being an independent sovereign state. Jackson also talks about the big thinkers of the Scottish nationalist movement, both historic and contemporary. Change is the theme that draws all of these recommended books together—the constant change that Scottish nationalism has undergone—whether we’re talking socially, culturally, policy-related, politically, or even the intellectual driving force behind it. There are times when it has been very dogmatic. Times when it has been very pragmatic. And that’s certainly true of the SNP, as the major political party in Scotland today."