Standing up for Scotland’
The Scottish Unionist Party and ‘nationalist unionism’, 1912–68
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12286453 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David Torrance (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 169-188 |
| Publication date | 2018-04-26 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Scottish Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0966-0356 • E-ISSN: 2053-888X |
| Publisher | Edinburgh University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.3366/scot.2018.0235 |
| OpenAlex | W2800404740 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 17 |
Scottish nationalism has long interested political scientists and historians but has often been interpreted narrowly as the desire for full independence from the multi-national United Kingdom. A broader definition, however, reveals what this article calls the ‘nationalist unionism’ of the Scottish Unionist Party (1912–65), and its surprisingly nuanced view of Scottish national identity as well as Scotland's place in the UK. Drawing on nationalist theory, Smith's ‘ethno-symbolism’, Billig's ‘banal nationalism’ and Bulpitt's interpretation of the Conservative Party's ‘territorial code’ are deployed to analyse this phenomena, supporting the argument that it rested upon myths and symbols from the pre-modern era; pushed what it perceived as ‘bad’ nationalism (the desire for legislative rather than administrative devolution) to the ‘periphery’ of Scottish political discourse and, finally, demonstrated the willingness of the unionist ‘core’ to allow the Scottish Unionist Party to pursue a relatively autonomous strategy for electoral dominance. Furthermore, this article argues that the Scottish Unionist Party presented itself – most ostentatiously between the early 1930s and mid 1950s – as the main ‘guardian’ of a distinct Scottish national identity, while celebrating and protecting Scotland's semi-autonomous place within the UK
Aesthetics · Argument (complex analysis · Devolution (biology · Home rule · Identity (music · Interpretation (philosophy · National identity · Nationalism · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Irish and British Studies · Law · Political Systems and Governance · Public Administration · Scottish History and National Identity
Nations and nationalism in a global era
The ethnic origins of nations
Political Discourse and National Identity in Scotland
Baldwin and Scotland
Territory and power in the United Kingdom
Imagining the ‘Mongrel Nation
The Scottish Unionist Party
Imagined communities
Devolution and the Tartanisation of the Labour Party
| Citations per year | 0.25 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2022 - 2022 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |