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E-book Security in a Small Nation : Scotland, Democracy, Politics

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Penilaian

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Questions about ‘security’ provide a lens that brings issues of national independence into sharp focus. In the first instance, security concerns the ability of a state to protect its inhabitants from danger. The idea that security is the first responsibility of government has long been a political mantra. But choosing strategies to ensure a country’s effective security often entails a tension between the protection of its citizens and their individual freedom. Ensuring that citizens are safe from the excesses of state power, for example through guarantees of privacy and human rights, becomes central to the security debate. Such issues are interwoven with the country’s particular style of politics and democracy. Seen in such a light, we must ask what exactly it is that needs to be ‘secured’. In the context of national independence, the answer often goes beyond basic survival; it involves values, culture, prosperity, and the place of a state and its people in the world.The chapters in this book reflect upon the security questions raised by the prospect of Scottish independence from the United Kingdom. Despite a victory for the No side in the 2014 referendum, these questions have not gone away. The vote did not settle the issue of independence for a generation as Unionists hoped it would. The Scottish National Party (SNP) went on to win a landslide of Scottish Westminster seats at the 2015 General Election and remained the governing party of Scotland in the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections. At the time of writing, after the UK’s vote to leave the European Union in June 2016, the Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, is touting independence as a way to keep Scotland in the EU. There is every chance that Scotland may revisit the question of independence, and thus inevitably the question of Scottish national security, sooner rather than later.Elsewhere, separatism within other EU member states is still firmly on the agenda, most notably in Spain. And the UK’s decision to leave the EU — otherwise known as Brexit — may be the beginning of a major regional, institutional, and geopolitical shakeup. It could have a domino effect, prompting other member states to demand their independence from the EU too. In all cases, independence is not so much an answer but a series of further questions. Independence from what, and to do what? What ‘security’ would such independence bring? And could a small, newly independent state fare better against forces that even the biggest and most ‘secure’ states seem unable to control, such as migration, capital flows, and new technologies of communication and social organisation?

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Ketersediaan

Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

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No. Panggil

172.2 ATK s

Penerbit

London : Open Book Publishers., 2017

Deskripsi Fisik

254 hlm

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

9781783742707

Klasifikasi

172.2

Tipe Isi

text

Tipe Media

computer

Tipe Pembawa

online resource

Edisi

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Subjek

Duties of The State

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

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Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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