Imagining Independence: An Ethnographic Study of Values and Actions in Scottish Nationalism and the Scottish Independence Movement

Abstract Based on an 8-month ethnographic fieldwork in Edinburgh, this thesis explores the relationship between ideas, values, actions and social practices in the Scottish independence movement, as a component part of Scottish nationalism. The recent proliferation and rejuvenation of Scottish nationalism has contributed to an emergence of a public discourse on Scottish sovereignty which manifested most tangibly in the referendum on Scottish independence in September 2014, but also greatly affected the outcome of the General Election the subsequent year. Advocating Scottish autonomy, the Scottish independence movement directly challenges the hegemony of the UK state by providing an alternative to the union of Scotland and England. The success of the independence movement is largely due to its dynamic interplay between values and actions. By invoking and evoking deeply-rooted egalitarian values in Scottish society, the Scottish independence movement, reproduces an image of and a perception of Scotland as more egalitarian than the rest of the UK. In this view, independence is connected to egalitarian values and a social democratic future, which provides a sense of hope to its participants. The aspirational aspects of the independence movement, I assess as a larger purpose that concerns political realties and engages people’s aspirations and desires for a better society and future. A significant point, is that people’s aspirations concern collective goods, and thus transcend the self-interest of the individual. I argue that the Scottish independence movement is first and foremost a public, social and collective movement that aims at transforming the society for the benefit of the public. Performed by a myriad of different social practices, people’s efforts towards social change and transformation, is hence intimately connected to their values, views, aspirations and desires. The valuable lessons we may draw from the Scottish independence movement, is that people are deeply concerned with the notion of the good life, and as such are both able and willing to act in favour of what they perceive as the common good. Ordinary people’s ability to directly influence and change their societies, is an insight which is increasingly important to acknowledge. People involved in the Scottish independence movement thus demonstrate that once hope is prevalent, people directly and actively strive to better their worlds by concrete social practices. The Scottish independence movement illustrates that, with hope and a realisation of their own abilities, ordinary people have the creativity and agency to influence and transform their societies in significant ways