Opportunities and challenges surrounding the prospect of independence for Scotland in the light of changes since 2014.
"Many of the questions remain the same as in 2014. For instance, what would be the currency of an independent Scotland? Would an independent Scotland be in the EU? What would it mean for our economy, our society, our public services, or our security?
Yet much has changed since 2014. Most notably, the UK’s decision to leave the European Union (EU) profoundly affects the context in which independence would take place, and the relationships an independent Scotland could have with its neighbours. The Covid-19 crisis, and the enormous health, economic and social challenges it has created for governments across the globe, also shapes the background against which any decision on Scotland’s future would take place.
It builds upon an earlier initiative ahead of the 2014 referendum developed by the Future of the UK and Scotland programme in partnership with the Hunter Foundation and the David Hume Institute: Scotland’s Decision: 16 Questions to think about for the referendum on 18 September (Jeffery and Perman, 2014). Then, we provided impartial, authoritative analysis on key issues to help voters steer their way through the competing claims of the campaigns. In this volume, we have asked scholars to revisit these and other issues in the changed context in which the independence debate is taking place."