Joint event by the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) and the Deutsch-Britische Gesellschaft e.V..
Martyn Evans
Chief Executive of the Carnegie UK Trust
Scotland and England have been in political union for 300 years. Two nations brought together in 1707, not by conquest, but by peaceful agreement of their respective Parliaments. The 21st century has brought renewed strain. Not a strain to the social union between the people of the two counties but to the governance model. Devolution in 1998 and then the political competence and civic nationalism of the present Scottish Government created the conditions for a confident and assertive debate on ending the political union. The reaction of unionists has been to review and renew the arguments in favour of political as well as social solidarity. Whatever the outcome of the referendum it is hard to dispute that a different political landscape has been developing in Scotland. This is a challenge to all the jurisdictions of the UK-not least England. The old certainties of governance in the UK are towards the end of their useful life – the question is what will replace them and how stable will those new arrangements be.
The event will be held in English.