Abstract
With increasing frequency, long-established multinational states in
Western Europe are fracturing under the centrifugal pressures generated by
the desire of ethnonational groups to achieve self-government. In Europe,
the EU increasingly serves as a potential ally for ethno-national political
movements (perhaps even a potential replacement) to what are perceived as
the constrictions of the nation-state. In Britain, the Scottish Nationalist
Party (SNP) began to achieve significant electoral competitiveness during
the 1960s. It has now reached the point where it was the official opposition
in the Scottish Parliament from 1999-2007,then became the largest party in
the parliament and formed a minority government following elections on
3'd May 2007. The aim of this article is to survey the genealogy of
nationalist mobilisation in Scotland as well as to identifY the factors that
have fuelled the party's trajectory from that of a fractured pressure group in
the 1930s and 1940s to that of a credible political actor today. Importantly,
the article will elaborate on the party's oscilating attitudes to European
integration since the 1930s and evaluate whether the Party will in fact be
able, as it claims, to trade membership of the United Kingdom for
membership as an independent state within the EU
References
- Swinney, J (2003, November 1). Speech to the Scottish Council of the European Movement, Perth. Retrieved July 4, 2004, from http://www .snp.orglindex _ 800 .php?pageName=home _content. php/speec hes_67(1). pdf
- UK:Scotland Reid accused of 'empire building' (1999, October 22) BBC News. Retrieved January 4, 2007 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk _ news/scotland/480912.stm
Abstract
With increasing frequency, long-established multinational states in
Western Europe are fracturing under the centrifugal pressures generated by
the desire of ethnonational groups to achieve self-government. In Europe,
the EU increasingly serves as a potential ally for ethno-national political
movements (perhaps even a potential replacement) to what are perceived as
the constrictions of the nation-state. In Britain, the Scottish Nationalist
Party (SNP) began to achieve significant electoral competitiveness during
the 1960s. It has now reached the point where it was the official opposition
in the Scottish Parliament from 1999-2007,then became the largest party in
the parliament and formed a minority government following elections on
3'd May 2007. The aim of this article is to survey the genealogy of
nationalist mobilisation in Scotland as well as to identifY the factors that
have fuelled the party's trajectory from that of a fractured pressure group in
the 1930s and 1940s to that of a credible political actor today. Importantly,
the article will elaborate on the party's oscilating attitudes to European
integration since the 1930s and evaluate whether the Party will in fact be
able, as it claims, to trade membership of the United Kingdom for
membership as an independent state within the EU
References
- Swinney, J (2003, November 1). Speech to the Scottish Council of the European Movement, Perth. Retrieved July 4, 2004, from http://www .snp.orglindex _ 800 .php?pageName=home _content. php/speec hes_67(1). pdf
- UK:Scotland Reid accused of 'empire building' (1999, October 22) BBC News. Retrieved January 4, 2007 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk _ news/scotland/480912.stm
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal Section | Makaleler |
| Authors | |
| Publication Date | December 28, 2007 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2007 |