ASSESSING PARTY-MOVEMENT INTERACTIONS IN THE SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT IN RELATION TO DEFENSE MATTERS

Abstract

This article contributes to the growing field of research on party-movement interactions by studying the interactions between the Scottish National Party (SNP) and the wider Scottish independence movement in relation to defense matters, especially nuclear disarmament and NATO membership. It examines the degree to which the SNP remains a movement-based party based on Sidney Tarrow’s contention that such parties are more likely to be driven by ideological militancy. According to the categories of party-movement interactions theorized by Mildred A. Schwartz and Dieter Rucht, the paper further analyzes the degree of closeness or symbiosis between the SNP and the wider independence movement. The study argues that, despite having become a government party, the SNP inherits a strong ideological tradition of anti-nuclearism and anti-militarism, which allows it to remain close to the wider independence movement. However, recent SNP defense policy changes have created a new dividing line between party and movement in a field which had, on the contrary, served as a major source of unity until then. Such policy changes include its support for NATO membership since 2012, and for increased defense spending in the current context of European rearmament.