To comment on a long-standing and profoundly emotional inter-ethnic issue such as the Scottish strive for independence is ungrateful at the least. Furthermore, agitating against a people’s right to peaceful self-determination is generally deemed unpalatable, especially when done by academics.
However, what Scottish national patriots might fulfill in a matter of hours from now is not simply their dream and natural collective right. It goes far beyond the scope of an internal British affair and could potentially affect the destiny of the West as a whole.
As the world is impatiently waiting to see the outcome of the looming Scottish referendum , former and current British leaders, apparently startled by (not quite) the latest poll results “unexpectedly” showing a historical lead for Scottish nationalists, are using all they have—well, not everybody buys this¬—to rally unionist forces in the northern UK and save the 307-year structure of pride. Having unanimously campaigned throughout Scotland since last Wednesday and slated to remain among their local activists and constituents until “D-day,” Prime Minister David Cameron, Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, and dozens of other British MPs are now completing their final push to reverse, if possible all, the country’s suspected pro-independence mood.
Whether exerted from within or without the British isles, the incremental pressure against the UK’s likely break-up may have indeed bеcome unbearable to Alex Salmond and his followers, with the former having warned that the Westminster establishment and foreign exponents…
“will throw [even] the kitchen sink and probably most of the living room – at the Scottish people…”
Yet, no matter what “Yes” campaigners in Scotland, alternative media in the West, and anti-globalist voices elsewhere have recently said or divulged—in principle, accusing the English and Western elite of psychological terror, threats, and even “monstrous” propaganda spins linking one’s pure national feeling to the gruesome ISIS—nothing can change the existence of a formidable Western rationale for preventing Scottish independence. Not only has this rationale made elitist Etonians “desperate” and nearly “heartbroken” in the wake of the referendum, but it has also justified a thorough constitutional debate on British royal prerogatives as well as Queen Elizabeth’s subsequent mild political intervention in the name of higher interests.
British national interests aside, there is a fairly good chance for September 18 to be remembered, along with Ukraine, as a game changer in a global strategic context—a symbolic beginning of a nightmare for the EU, NATO, and many others in the West, including Canada.
To be continued following the results of the referendum….
The author is Research Fellow at the University of Manitoba Centre for Defence and Security Studies (CDSS) & a former coordination officer with the Secretariat for European Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia. He can be reached at hristijani@hotmail.com
Featured Photo by kay222.
