Political parties and the media increasingly invoke nationalism as a vehicle to increase support or deter voters from the attraction of another party, policy or culture. Since the 1950's Scotland has diverged from England in its patterns of political behaviour and new nationalism has developed; replacing the old romantic nationalism. What initially began as a defensive reaction to constitutional arrangements within the Union contributed positively to the renegotiating of Scotland's rights. This assertion of autonomy in Scotland was not necessarily due to a rise in fundamental nationalism; rather the rise of modern nationalism in a form of autonomism reflected dissatisfaction with the Union. The Scottish people's preference for a welfare state was a key factor in the voting behaviour of the Scottish electorate, yet dismissed by the Thatcher regime. A convergence of left of centre political currents in Scotland preceded the 1997 referendum. Furthermore, the strengthening of national identity through political discourse and the media encouraged nationalist sentiment. Whilst internally local government identified with the campaign for a Scottish

External pressures in the late twentieth century include the weakening of the industrial capital in relation to the growing importance of finance capital and the changing position of the modern state in an increasingly global economy. Changes in technology and capital mobility has weakened the bargaining power of organised labour since the 1960's. This breakdown of the contract between capital and labour, state and citizen was further complicated by the fact Scotland was in contracted unity with England in the United Kingdom. Complex problem lies in the fact that the opposition between capital and labour, between citizens and the state got 'metaphorically mapped onto the opposition between Scotland and England'. Modern nationalism rose as a reactionary sentiment expressing Scotland's struggle to assert its autonomy in both the Union and the modern world under the perceived violation of broken social contracts and covenants that took place in a historical tradition of political conflict.

The very idea of a rise of nationalism in Scotland assumes a common understanding of the concept of nationalism. However, differences can be made between the emotional romantic nationalist tradition whose origins trace back to the nineteenth century and a modern conception based on the notion of contractual rights sought by advocates of home rule. This modern nationalism is not necessarily in favour of full independence for Scotland but aspires to negotiate autonomy for Scotland with Westminster. Simply to state there is a rise in Scottish nationalism neglects the coexistence of dual and multiple identities that prevail in Scotland. Gellner contends that nationalism can also be seen as primarily a political principle, which holds that the political and national unit should be congruent. He argues that behind a national movement is a national sentiment aroused by a feeling of anger from a violation of this principle. (Gellner, 1983, p.1) In their analysis of nationalism and constitutional questions, Kellas and Heath (1998) conclude that Scotland has a distinctively higher proportion of people with exclusive identities, compared with England and Wales and Ireland . These exclusive national identities are associated with subordinate positions in the social structure and with somewhat greater alienation from the workings of British democracy. Experiences in Catalonia suggest that the devolution of 1979 was successful in maintaining dual Spanish/Catalonian identities, modern nationalism is not necessarily a threatening force in Scotland but more of a reaction to the violation of principles of enduring importance to the Scottish people.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Parliament Indeed, Scottish Parliament, Home Rule', , Scottish People, Civil Society, Union Scottish, Scotland England, Experiences Catalonia, Scotland Gellner, modern nationalism, scottish parliament, et al, national identity, home rule, civil society, social policy, scottish electorate, et al 1998, al 1998, campaign scottish, surridge et al, rise nationalist sentiment, modern nationalism form, support home rule,
Approximate Word count = 1780
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)