Scottish Independence and National Identity
Università degli Studi di Padova Dipartimento di Studi Linguistici e Letterari Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Aziendali "Marco Fanno" Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Lingue Moderne per la Comunicazione e la Cooperazione Internazionale Classe LM-38 Tesi di Laurea Scottish Independence and National Identity Relatore Laureando Prof. Katia Caldari Giovanni Beninato n° matr.1014627 / LMLCC Anno Accademico 2012 / 2013 Alla mia famiglia INTRODUCTION On 18 September 2014, the Scottish people will be asked to participate in a referendum organized by the Scottish National Party (SNP), the political force currently governing Scotland. As it has been extensively chronicled in the British and international media, the event is bound to be of utmost importance for the future of the country, as, if successful, it will redefine the relationships between Scotland and the rest of UK (rUK), between Scotland and the Europe, and between rUK and Europe. The referendum is about the independence of Scotland. More specifically, it will present the Scots with the question “Should Scotland be an independent country?”, and the citizens will have to answer with a simple “Yes” or “No”. The majority’s verdict will then decide the UK’s next political moves. If the referendum succeeds, the parliaments of Britain and Scotland will start to make arrangements for the separation of Scotland, and the new state will theoretically be able to function as a self-reliant entity. However, independence will not be a simple thing to achieve. The process to obtain it will not be (and never has been) straightforward, and, for every step, there are multiple implications to consider: constitutional legitimacy of the referendum, continuation or not of existing economic agreements, automatic or not EU membership, currency options, internal and international market interests, re-organization of sources of income and fiscal policies, Scotland’s old and new relationship with the rest of Britain, the people’s perception and opinion, just to list some of the most prominent.
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