Will Scotland leave the UK?

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Restrictions apply.

Shirvan (1:15)

What does it mean to be Scottish in the 21st century? It's a question that is still pending. In 2014, Scotland held a referendum on independence. It did so with the explicit support of the British government, which issued a Section 30 order delegating provisional authority to the Scottish Parliament to hold such a referendum. The Scottish government at the time described the vote as a once-in-a-generation opportunity. About 4.2 million Scots representing 85% of Scotland's population cast their ballots and rejected independence by 55% to 45%.

Scotland's future, it seemed, was decided. In the Union, it would remain.

However, the world has changed since Brexit, and both Scottish and English nationalists feel reinvigorated. Now, lawmakers in Edinburgh are pushing for a brand new referendum on independence. A date has been set for October 2023, but a lot of legal, economic, and political issues remain unaddressed. Nevertheless, Scottish lawmakers feel confident enough to push ahead. So, is this how Britain ends? Is this how Scotland breaks away and redefines what it means to be Scottish?

I'll try Ground News. A comparative news platform I use to get a complete perspective on issues like Scottish independence. Ground News helps expose bias and blind spots in news coverage. If you've been following CaspianReport for a while, you know I'm an advocate of the app and website. I highly encourage you to check it out as a resource at ground.news slash Caspian. Let me give you a brief rundown. Scotland's new mandate for an independence referendum was shared far and wide. 120 articles, no less. Most of the sources were from the UK and the US, with the biased distribution leaning slightly to the left. Now, media algorithms tend to push polarizing content to generate clicks, and most people are unknowingly stuck in their respective information bubbles. But, interestingly, Canadian media outlets are also keenly following the Scottish process. Canada's Alberta region holds some separatist tendencies, and Scotland's future is likely to shape regional politics in such places.

The tools made available by Ground News allow me to easily see how media outlets are framing the Scottish issue, which gives me a more nuanced perspective on things.

Ground News is supported by their subscribers. To stay informed on issues from all over the world, go to ground.news slash Caspian, and subscribe for unlimited access for less than one dollar a month, and support a small team of media outsiders working to make the news more transparent.

The fact that Scotland and England are part of the same state is remarkable considering their history. For centuries, Scotland existed as a thorn in England's backside. England possessed a geopolitical imperative to unify the island of Great Britain, and to that end conquered Wales in the 13th century. But a combination of internal political differences, including English civil wars and Scottish geography, prevented England from dominating Scotland by force. In fact, from the 13th century to the 16th century, every Scottish and French ruler faithfully renewed.

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Shirvan (5:45)

What became known as the Old Alliance, aligning Scottish interests with that of France, England's mortal enemy at the time. Three times in the 14th century, France financed the raising of Scottish armies to invade England, while in the 16th century, French intervention saved Scotland from the depredations of the English monarch Henry VIII.