Squaring the Circles: Demonstrating and Explaining the Political ‘Non-Alignment’ of Scottish National Identity

While discussion and introspection about national identity has arguably been a consistent feature of life in Scotland for quite some time, it has been given added impetus by the recent restoration of the Scottish Parliament. Consequently, it seems that barely a week goes by without academics, journalists, commentators, or authors adding to the debate about Scottish national identity. Given the large part that Scotland's political structure, and the political values and behaviour of its electorate, have had to play in Scottish distinctiveness, especially though not exclusively in recent years, it is perhaps unsurprising that this primarily political development should have had such a substantial effect. However, while we can certainly see the political as a major influence upon national identity in Scotland, this is not to say that for individual Scots conceptions of national identity are largely determined by political beliefs. The relationship between national identity and political attributes among the Scottish electorate is characterised by a complexity that has been insufficiently explored or ignored completely. This article therefore seeks to unravel this complexity to an extent at least by examining this relationship in some detail.