Scotland on the Eve of the Independence Referendum
On September 18th, Scottish voters will decide whether their country will be the first to secede from a Western-European state in recent history. After two years of campaigning it would seem that politicians, academics, and journalists would have a good understanding of the public sentiment. Using very recent data from the only large-scale, representative, and comprehensive attitudes surveys in Scotland, however, this talk will highlight where the general “wisdom” about Scots’ attitudes towards the referendum may be empirically wrong. The talk will also identify issues that may still move people, in either direction, before casting their vote.
Event Sponsor
Overview
On September 18th, Scottish voters will decide whether their country will be the first to secede from a Western-European state in recent history. After two years of campaigning it would seem that politicians, academics, and journalists would have a good understanding of the public sentiment. Using very recent data from the only large-scale, representative, and comprehensive attitudes surveys in Scotland, however, this talk will highlight where the general “wisdom” about Scots’ attitudes towards the referendum may be empirically wrong. After showing where the polls stand and what we may expect as polling day approaches, this talk will focus in particular on how the attitudes of Scottish people towards international affairs have often been misrepresented, in particular in relation to the European Union, Scotland’s role in the world, and nuclear weapons in Scotland. The talk will also identify issues that may still move people, in either direction, before casting their vote.
Dr. Jan Eichhorn is a Chancellor’s Fellow in Social Policy at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Social and Political Science. He is the principal investigator on two Economic and Social Research Council funded projects in the “Future of the UK and Scotland” programme, investigating the attitudes of Scots in relation to the referendum on independence.
Speakers
Jan Eichhorn
Samuel Wells
Former Deputy and Associate Director, Woodrow Wilson Center; Former Director, West European Studies Program, Woodrow Wilson Center
Hosted By
Global Europe Program
The Global Europe Program is focused on Europe’s capabilities, and how it engages on critical global issues. We investigate European approaches to critical global issues. We examine Europe’s relations with Russia and Eurasia, China and the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. Our initiatives include “Ukraine in Europe” – an examination of what it will take to make Ukraine’s European future a reality. But we also examine the role of NATO, the European Union and the OSCE, Europe’s energy security, transatlantic trade disputes, and challenges to democracy. The Global Europe Program’s staff, scholars-in-residence, and Global Fellows participate in seminars, policy study groups, and international conferences to provide analytical recommendations to policy makers and the media. Read more
Thank you for your interest in this event. Please send any feedback or questions to our Events staff.
