Something incredible happened ‘across the pond’ Thursday.
Under the Scottish Independence Referendum 2014, the nation of Scotland went to the polls to determine whether to break away from the United Kingdom and end its 307-year-old alliance with Great Britain.
The United Kingdom consists of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Under the United Kingdom, Scotland has a greater voice in global issues, but many pro-independent Scots wanted to reap the economic, political and military benefits of having their own self-governing nation.
Economically, the pro-yes independence Scots wanted full access to the oil in the North Sea. With unrestricted and untaxed access to this oil, some Scottish figures theorize that Scotland could become one of the richest countries in the world.
Politically, many Scots simply wanted absolute independence in making governmental decisions on their own without Great Britain, which is known as being more conservative. One huge political issue dividing the two nations is the nuclear submarines that the United Kingdom harbors in Glasgow, Scotland—a big liability in a nation that wants to be free of nuclear weapons. As an independent nation, Scotland would not have to get their military involved when the United Kingdom declares military action. Despite these advantages, the voters of Scotland did not approve independence.
Although the 44.7 percent vote for independence was not enough to pass the referendum, it has been one of democracy’s finest moments so far in the 21st century.
In the past decade, the United States has seen presidents bypass congressional permission for military campaigns and overall historically low voter turn-outs—often times under 50 percent. Within the past few days, we’ve even seen an election in Afghanistan where President-elect Ashraf Ghani Ahmazai has been announced, but the voting commission will not release vote figures. Each of these being examples of violations of democratic principles.
However, with Scotland, there is a beacon of hope for the old Greek institution of democracy. At the polls on Thursday, Scotland saw an unprecedented voter turnout of 84.6 percent. This is huge considering Scotland has a much lower voting age of 16 years.
Since the vote, there has also been a relatively peaceful response by the losing pro-independence group — also a very impressive contrast to the Middle Eastern jihadist group, ISIS, which is trying to establish sovereign nations by much more aggressive means instead of through democracy.
Scotland’s path towards what could’ve been independence is an example of democracy that should be studied and followed by all nations or groups seeking sovereignty. Although the nation didn’t achieve absolute sovereignty, it is the best modern example of how democracy can help decide a nation’s fate without a civil war breaking out or large numbers of people dying.
