Conclusion: the effects of the contemporary global era on Scottish national identity

The shifting policy of the SNP on Europe is a key indicator of the growing global influences on national identity in Scotland. Although it is clear the SNP does not speak for all Scots (or even a majority), nonetheless, the party's changing view towards Europe is generally indicative of a wider change in terms of identity. In order to fully comprehend the present situation, it is necessary first to examine how Scottish national identity was previously focused on the international stage.

The arrival of ideological nationalism, the political mechanism of national identity, to Scotland has been identified as being peculiarly ‘belated'. The chronological timing of the growth of Scottish nationalism corresponds not with those of similar European nations, but rather with the anti-colonial nationalism prevalent in African and Asian countries 94; the aim of which was to replace the rule of foreign imperial states in favour of self-determination. This is referred to in the Scottish context at the end of section two, and the manifestations of national identity discussed in section three also suggest there is a strong flavour of anti-colonialism inherent in Scottish national identity. This has led to a traditional focusing of national identity away from a British identity, ‘narrowing in' on a separate Scottishness.

Until this point, this dissertation has purposefully attempted to define the national identity of Scotland in purely positive terms; what Scots are, rather than what they are not. However, Scottish national identity does have another dimension, that of not being English. As the opening quote observes, a common view of many Scots is ‘British means “mainly English”... I am never British, always Scottish' 95, and as one Scottish academic observes, ‘we are Scots because we are on the other side of the line at which England stops.' 96 This opposition to England is again related to a sense of anti-colonialism, perhaps best summed up by the lead character in the film Trainspotting,

Some people hate the English, but I don't. They're just wankers. We, on the other hand, are colonised by wankers. We can't even pick a decent culture to be colonised by. 97

This resentment at the intrusion of English cultural imperialism can also be extended to the inference that Britain is synonymous with England 98, and this resentment is shared by other nations within the United Kingdom. It was these pressures that led to the birth of the ‘Celtic League', and some efforts were made to engender a Celtic fringe identity to challenge the British identity. However, despite unsuccessful attempts to encourage alternative identities, the traditional direction of Scottish identity was away from Britain, and in particular England.

Today, in what I have described as the contemporary global era, Scottish national identity is no longer heading in this one-way direction away from Britain. A defining feature of globalisation is the dynamic between the local and the global 99, and this has led to identifications both beneath the nation-state (regionalisation) and above (supra-nationalism). The regionalisation aspect, the ‘narrowing' of Scottish identity away from the British, is what I have described above. It is the notion of supra-nationalism that has been introduced by the global era that is now proving to be a significant factor in defining Scottish identity, as it has presented an opportunity to transcend the nation-state,

In certain cases these regions are pursuing what one may call a foreign policy. This concerns either economic cooperation across the national border or an appeal to Europe (the EU) as a means to emphasise the regional cultural identity (of, for example, Scotland or Catalonia). 100

The policy of the SNP towards Europe is a clear example of such a foreign policy, and the shift in policy is a product of global influences affecting Scottish identity in a wider context. This phenomenon has given a new direction to Scottish national identity, causing it to ‘broaden out' beyond the nation and the nation-state, embracing a wider European culture. The choice of Glasgow as the European City of Culture in 1990 was an important indicator of the change in Scottish identity. However, the global era has not seen the death of the older manifestations of national identity, as Scottishness still defines itself in relation to the ‘other'. This has led to the ‘bi-polarisation' of Scottish national identity, a process that involves the simultaneous pulling of the national identity in opposite, yet not incompatible, directions. As much as Scottish national identity is ‘broadening out' to embrace the global era, it is still ‘narrowing in' away from the British identity at the same time. The concept of bi-polarisation also infers the lack of any middle ground; few Scottish people presently align themselves with a British identity, and this was demonstrated by the support for devolution in last year's referendum. The influence of supra-nationalism on Scotland was first examined by Tom Nairn in the 1970s, who attacked it from a Marxist perspective 101. Much has changed in the last two decades, and it seems Scottish national identity is now broadening to embrace a Europe of small nations, whilst simultaneously continuing to narrow away from Britishness.