Rocks Will Melt With the Sun: Higher Education, National Identity and the Independence Debate in Scotland by John Graeme Stewart A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Leaderships, Higher and Adult Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © by John Graeme Stewart 2021 Abstract Rocks Will Melt With The Sun: Higher Education, National Identity and the Independence Debate in Scotland Doctor of Philosophy, 2021 John Graeme Stewart Graduate Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto Higher education has become connected to the political debate around independence in Scotland, playing a significant role in both regular elections for the Scottish Parliament and in the debate around the 2014 Independence Referendum. Using the nationalism-social policy nexus as a framework for analysis, this thesis explores how contemporary higher education policy has been deliberately connected to a historical conception of a distinct tradition of higher education in Scotland to position nationalist political actors as the protectors of Scotland’s political values and identity, and independence as the only way to ensure the continuity of these values in the face of England’s differing approach to higher education and social service provision. Using document review, a content analysis, key informant interviews and several international comparative case studies, this dissertation validates the existence of a belief in a distinct Scottish tradition, and how appeals to that tradition can be motivating in certain political contexts, such as normal parliamentary elections. It also find that the nationalism-social policy nexus helps explain both the sharp policy divergence, particularly on tuition fees, between Scotland and the United Kingdom, and why higher education came to play a role in the 2014 Independence debate. Interestingly, higher education was deployed by both the “Yes” and “No” campaigns to support their respective arguments. This fact enriches our understanding of the nexus, in that it is effective in explaining why a nationalist sub- state government may make certain policy choices, but is unable to predict whether these choices become politically motivating for voters. ii The dissertation furthers our understanding of the relationship between higher education and the state, notably how political forces such as sub-state nationalism drive policymaking in postsecondary education systems. State power is often theorized as unitary, where one central political authority exerts influence on higher education institutions to further specific nation-building or ideological goals. The case of Scotland suggests that higher education policy is not only driven by what is useful to the state, but also by those who seek to re-negotiate or dismantle it. iii For Emmett & Leif iv Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear, And the rocks will melt wi’ the sun; I will love thee still my dear, While the sands o’ life shall run. -Robert Burns, A Red, Red Rose v Acknowledgements This dissertation was researched and written while also working full-time and starting a family, which means that a lot of people were variously heroically patient, accommodating and supportive of me along the way. I would first like to thank all of the individuals who took time out of their schedules to participate in the key informant interviews. Not only did you provide valuable insight that made this project possible, but you were also welcoming and kind to the strange Canadian tromping all over your campuses and places of work. I greatly appreciated the offers of lunch and the rides back to assorted train stations. I want to offer a special word of thanks to Professor Jim Gallacher, a great advocate of expanding access to higher education, who sadly passed away before this project was completed. Graham Angus and Brad Lepp helped me pilot the coding frame for the content analysis, and graciously agreed to act as my second and third coders. The final product is much richer thanks to them. The late, great Henry Mandelbaum, former Executive Director of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, encouraged me to begin this PhD program in the first place. His successor, Mark Rosenfeld, was also incredibly supportive as I worked to complete my coursework, thesis proposal and research. The Honourable Deb Matthews not only shared her excellent planning spreadsheet, “The Road to Dr. Deb,” but also showed me that it is possible to complete a dissertation while holding down a very challenging job. If a Member of Provincial Parliament and cabinet minister could complete a doctorate, it seemed reasonable that I could, too. I was blessed with a very supportive – and extremely understanding – supervisory committee. The thoughtful comments of Professors Leesa Wheelahan and Ruth Hayhoe greatly improved this project at all stages of its completion. None of this could have happened without the guidance and support of Glen Jones, professor of higher education and Dean of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. The seed of this project began in his Systems of Higher Education course, and he has been a part of it at every step. I hope everyone has the benefit of a supervisor with his knowledge, patience and uncanny ability to gently nudge at the right moment to ensure the work gets done. Mavis Rodgers, ballroom dancer, theatre impresario and my grandmother, is not around to see this finished. But she was a tireless and loving booster for all of my various schemes and studies, and I know she would see a little bit of herself in these pages. My parents and sister had a huge role to play in this project. It would be hard to find a vi more encouraging family unit. My mom and dad gifted me a lifelong love of learning, and helped me through the various ups and downs of putting this thing together. My son, Emmett, is too young to understand what a thesis is, but took it with good humor when I periodically disappeared into the basement to write. Leif arrived after I completed the draft, but his impending arrival helped provide some much needed focus to the final stages of this dissertation. Someday, I hope I can explain to both of them how the fact of their existence inspired me to keep going when it seemed a lot easier to just pitch it all in the bin. And to Laura, my partner in all of this, I would have to write another 100,000 words to explain how much your love and support means to me. You have the patience of a saint, and I continually amazed by your ability to shoulder the load and keep us all healthy and happy. Thank you. vii Table of Contents Chapter Page 1. Introduction: An Extraordinary Pledge…….…………………………………………..1 2. The Nationalism-Social Policy Nexus……………………………………………........8 3. Methodology…………………………………………………………………………21 4. A (Very) Brief History of the Scottish Nation……………………….…………….....31 5. A Distinct Scottish Tradition of Higher Education?……….……………………..…..45 6. Convergence and Divergence - Scotland’s Universities from 1889 to 2014…………65 7. Validating the Scottish Tradition, Past and Present……..………………..…………..96 8. Higher Education and the Referendum Campaign………………..……………..….138 9. Higher Education and Nationalism in Other Sub-State Nations………………..……175 10. After No: Looking to the Future of Higher Education in Scotland………………….204 11. Conclusion: Higher Education and Nationalism…………..……………………...…218 viii List of Figures Figure Page 1. Attachment to Scottish and British Identity, 2012-2018……………………110 2. Individuals featured in articles by type……………………………………..140 3. Number of higher education articles appearing per month, September 2013-September 2014…………….…………………………….143 4. Number of articles per month by intensity of coverage…………………….144 5. Location of Quebec within Canada…………………………………………177 6. Location of Catalonia within Spain…………………………………………190 7. Location of Flanders within Belgium……………………………………….200 ix List of Appendices Appendix Page A. Content Analysis Coding Frame……………………………………………241 B. Interview Protocol……….…………………………………………...……..245 C. Interview participants…………….………………………………………....247 D. Thematic Nodes and Sub-Nodes used in Qualitative Data Analysis……….248 x 1. Introduction: An Extraordinary Pledge On March 12, 2011, Alex Salmond took the stage to address the membership of the Scottish National Party at their annual conference in Glasgow. Salmond, First Minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), knew this was an important moment. In two months, Scotland would go to the polls to elect a new government, the fourth such election since the re-establishment of the Scottish Parliament and the devolution of political authority in 1999. Like most party conference speeches, it was an opportunity to both rally the party faithful and lay out the SNP’s policy. Midway through the speech, Salmond said something extraordinary. Speaking of tuition fees for Scottish university students, he made about the clearest statement on his party’s policy that it was possible to make: We would only fail if we were to betray our traditions and mortgage the future. So, when it comes to the question of university fees or graduate taxes, I know where I stand. The rocks will melt with the sun before I allow tuition fees to be imposed on Scottish students - upfront or backdoor. Tuition fees were already an important issue to Salmond’s party, and to Scotland generally. The re-establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 coincided with the re- introduction of tuition fees across the United Kingdom by Prime Minister Tony Blair, ending nearly four decades of effectively free access to universities that had been a key plank of the post-war British welfare state. The new fees were controversial across the UK, but especially so in Scotland. And since Scotland, through the devolution of powers that created the new Scottish Parliament, now had control over higher education policy, tuition fees became a defining issue for the new legislature.