The Scotland Referendum and What it might teach us about Democracy

By the now, the results are in.  Scotland has just rejected secession from U.K. in a historic referendum.  There have been impassioned” pleas on both sides, but through it all, Scotland will remain a part of the U.K.  If mainstream media is to be trusted, a big sigh of relief is heard around the world.

Personally I have no feeling one way or another although I will admit, the breakup of the U.K. – long the terror for much of the world – does not really bring a distaste to my mouth.  Whichever side you take, what I can’t stand is the suffocating self congratulatory praises that seem to now infuse editorials (see e.g. this piece by Roger Cohen in the NYT) and reader comments (see e.g. comments to this NYT article) about “democracy” and “rule of law.”

Oh … just look how the debates in Scotland (and U.K.) have been so “civil” even if “impassioned.” The U.K. and the West is truly different from others – especially rising powers such as China – because in the free democratic West, important, divisive issues can be settled peacefully, civilly, democratically, and in accordance “the rule of law.”

But is this really about the triumph of “democracy” and “rule of law”?  A little dose of reality might bring some sobriety.

Let’s look at history.  As author Michael Crichton remarked once, “if you don’t know history, then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree.”

Historically, Scotland never did possess a right” to self determination. The issue of whether England and Scotland should be one – before yesterday’s “referendum” – had never settled democratically but instead had always been settled by war, conquest, and the put down of rebellions. For much of the last one thousand years, Scotland had fought bitterly to free itself from England.  The Union between England and Scotland was imposed in 1707, with the Treaty of Union and subsequent Acts of Union.

If democracy is about “referendums” of self-determination, and if the U.K. is a shining tower of freedom and democracy, why did it take so long to get to the referendum?

The truth is that Scottish independence movement had already been effectively quelled by the 20th century.  Unlike Ireland, which rebelled in the Easter Rising and fought a War of Independence, Scotland never resisted London rule in the 20th century. There have been, however, persistent demands for more self rule. The “Scottish Office” was thus relocated to St Andrew’s House in Edinburgh during the 1930s. In 1949, some two million Scots (out of some 5 million Scots at the time) signed the Scottish Covenant to petition the UK government asking for self rule, but the covenant was ignored by all the main political parties. In 1950, Scotland’s Stone of Destiny was removed from Westminster Abbey by “nationalists.” ¹

Despite the swelling of pride for Scottish culture in the lead-up to yesterday’s referendum, the 2014 “referendum” is not really about self determination. ²  There is no great political movement for independence. As noted in the Wikipedia, most “newspapers in Scotland opposed independence. This includes Scottish-based newspapers The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday, The Herald, the Sunday Post,the Daily Record, the Sunday Mail, the Scottish Daily Mail, The Scottish Daily Express, The Scottish Sunday Express, and Daily Star of Scotland; as well as UK-wide newspapers The Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent, The Economist, The Financial Times, The Spectator, and The Sunday Times. In contrast, only one newspaper in Scotland has publicly backed independence: the Sunday Herald.”

Instead of being a grandiose redemption of histories, yesterday’s “referendum” was more about mundane issues such as Britain’s austerity measures, tax revenues and usages, the sharing of oil revenues from the North Sea, nuclear armament issues, E.U. austerity issues, etc. The referendum was at best an “opportunity” – at worst a “distraction” – put forth by politicians to detract from U.K.’s domestic gridlock, with everyone knowing full well that a “yes” vote was highly highly unlikely. (British politicians might think twice next time resorting to such tricks in the future.)

The voting statics belies some of the rhetoric.  The voter-turnout for this “historic referendum” in Scotland was around 84%.  While respectable, it is not that high – not considering Scotland’s small population and the “historic” occasion.  The U.K. 1950 general election also approached that number (it was 83.9%, and that was for the entire nation.)  The voter turnout for the Quebec referendum of 1995 was also higher – standing at 92%, despite it having an electorate some 20% larger than Scotland’s and despite Scotland’s referendum taking place during the social media Internet age when mobilizing people has become that much easier.  Yes, the Scotland referendum may be “historic,” but it is not about choosing Scotland’s history.

A lot of pundits, such as Roger Cohen in his NYT piece cited above, contrasted democracy’s “civility” and “freedom” against that of “authoritarians,” especially China, even to the extent of citing Chinese suppression of Uighurs explicitly, with Tibet ringing no doubt in all Western readers’ ears.  This is a cheap shot – done with no regard to history.

Had Scotland really had that right, not only would Scotland have been able to exercise it’s right much earlier in a more meaning era of history, it would not have required the approval of the Edinburgh Agreement (2012) by the UK Parliament to go with its 2014 referendum or future referendums. ³

People like Cohen may want us to think that China and Russia are big evil empires that do not allow “self determination” of its sub-regions.  But lest people forget, the U.S. Civil War is itself fought to preserve the Union, not to cleanse the nation of an abdominal evil per se. As Lincoln admitted to in a letter to Horace Greeley: the primary goal of the War was to preserve the Union, not free the slaves.

My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause. I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors; and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views.

Under the U.S. Constitution today, there is a general consensus that no state (or group of states) has a right to  secede unilaterally from the Union.

For those who still want to believe in the high-aired toasts about democracy, I ask: did the U.K. just turn democratic yesterday?  To be a legitimate democracy, must U.K. also offer N. Ireland and Wales similar referendums?  When?

Also, yesterday’s “referendum” – while having global repercussions – is generally considered to be a product of U.K.’s domestic politics.  Would the referendums have been legitimate if the forces pushing for independence were sponsored by foreign governments – as in the case of China’s secession movements?

As for the U.S., was the U.S. a democracy when it has explicitly rejected state’s right to secede? Has it been a democracy when it has rejected time and time over Native American Nations’ right to sovereignty?   Has it been a democracy when it has rejected time and time over Black people’s right to sovereignty?

Some may assert, well, today at least, there are no credible Native American (including native Hawaiian) or Black movement to secede. That is true. But that is just a convenient result of history.

In the Native American case, over the history of the last three or so hundred years, their lands have been confiscated and their population diminished to the point of political non-viability.  In the case of Black Nationalism, throughout the last century or so, U.S. government has brutally suppressed the movement and assassinated its leaders. Nothing to be proud there.

Viewed properly in the context of this history, is it sincere for one to pronounce how “democratic” and “civilized” the U.S. is if one day there comes an opportunity for it to grant some native Americans or African Americans in the U.S. a right to vote in a “referendum” at “self determination”?

U.K. and U.S. aside – what about the bastion of the oft-touted “largest democracy” in the world – India?  If “democracy” and “rule of law” is all about using “referendums” to grant peoples’ right to “self determination” – where is that vote in Kashmir?

If India is too “economically backward” – what about “economically advanced” Japan – that “beacon” of Asian “democracy”?  Why has it not granted a “referendum” to the Okinawans?  Keep in mind, we are talking a government that has censored information about how Okinawa was “reverted” back to Japan control and arrested reporters who dared to disclose such information.

Take some Scottish Whiskey, but don’t let your head swim too high in the democracy toasts. The Scottish vote has brought up high emotions and rediscoveries of histories, but the vote is more about the petty fights of present-day politics than any grandiose historic redemption at self determination.

At the end of the day, the Scottish voters know that much of the political problems surrounding them will not be solved with independence: a Scottish oligarchy will not bring more to the people than the U.K. oligarchy.  So now that distractions are over, some pundits can’t help but itch for more.  Instead of talking about the real issues beneath the referendum, some have decided to take the easy way out and to take the opportunity to exult oneself at the expense of other nations, civilizations, and histories.

Such is the nature of today’s democracy….

Long live Scotland!  Good luck to U.K.!  The world is fast a-changing.  I wish you best of luck finding your place in a new world…