STEPHEN GETHINS
Nation to nation
Debating Scotland’s Place in the World
International affairs and Scotland
Throughout history, Scotland has influenced and been influenced by international affairs. Our place in the world has a big impact on all of us from the food we eat and how we heat our homes to providing opportunities for future generations. Therefore, international affairs will play an important part in any decisions Scotland’s citizens make about their future.
As people in Scotland debate whether their country should reclaim its place as a full member of the international community, I have been considering some of the questions that we might think about. This has come from a series of conversations with friends and colleagues across the political spectrum and with the publication of the second edition of Nation to Nation; Scotland’s Place in the World and the recent announcement of the Scottish Government’s plans to give people a choice in a referendum on independence, this seemed a good a time to re-start the conversation.
Special thanks to Alistair Heather, Mat Cassen, Lindsey Alexander and Luath Press Ltd for their help in this work.
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A Tale of Two Unions
“Since the Independence Referendum in 2014 one of the most consequential changes we now face is that of our relationship with the rest of Europe. This has fundamentally changed the constitutional debate in Scotland with many voters who previously supported the Union now backing Independence.
The UK leaving the EU against the will of the overwhelming majority of Scots also provided the ‘material change of circumstances’ in our relationship with the UK. It was on that basis that voters gave the Scottish Government a significant mandate to hold an Independence Referendum in 2016 and in every parliamentary election since.”