Why, although there is widespread evidence of racism in Scotland, Scottish politics is not racialized to the same extent as in some other parts of the UK.
This chapter examines demographic data relating to migration and ethnicity, comparing Scotland with other parts of Britain. It then examines sociological evidence concerning attitudes to immigration and national identities in Scotland, and the ways in which such identities are expressed and experienced.
These dimensions are discussed in relation to political discourse, in particular to address the question of why, although there is widespread evidence of racism in Scotland, Scottish politics is not racialized to the same extent as in some other parts of the UK.
Overall, it argues that Scotland’s demographic structure and the particular migration histories which underpin it contrast in some important respects with other parts of the UK, and that this in turn shapes distinctive attitudes, experiences, and identities which both inform, and are informed by, the political discourses and structures that are most relevant to multiculturalism.