Abstract
The issue of independence in Scotland has raised the crowd for many centuries. It has been advocated by many political movements that desire the secession of Scotland from the United Kingdom. I chose this topic as it has been hotly debated over the last few months in Scotland because of the election of the Scottish Parliament, on 3rd May, 2007. Indeed, the Scottish National Party (SNP) which is in favor of Independence has been very present in the election campaign and finally won it ahead of the Labor party which was governing for the last 40 years. This event has been precisely covered by the world media because of this particularity. The relationship between England and Scotland has always been very adversarial, and has been revealed through many wars and rebellions between those two countries, and today through a strong anti-English feeling from the Scots. The question of independence is far from new. Like the Irish, the Scots have a very strong identity. This allows them to survive as a particular folk. But whereas the Irish independence was lead with tears and fights, this one seems to happen with an accurate conscience of the risks and the benefits of it. Seen from outside, the main question is why the question of independence arises now, while Scotland is profiting widely from the United Kingdom through subsidies, and political, military and business power of this union? The reasons could of course be found in history. Scotland has remained a society with a proper culture, though they united with England by the Act of Union. Events show how the relationships between these two countries have been built, either in co-operation or in exploitation. This has lead to the present conditions. Why has the situation of Scotland, which was accepted for so many years now become unbearable for a large part of the population? Is it because Scotland is getting organized, on the political and economic levels? It will have to be discussed through the different organizations and people who take charge of the ideology of a free Scottish land. Considering that a country like Montenegro acceded to independence, a Scottish nation seems to be a reasonable project. The last part will show how Scottish independents consider the future of a proper nation. The feasibility of the actual implementation of independence will thus be assessed thanks to an evaluation by areas and a comparison with other small European countries.
