British politicians face the challenge of determining the vision for the future of the United Kingdom and the reasons why, in the next century, it will be worth staying together – says Dr Małgorzata Bonikowska, President of the Centre for International Relations, in a special analysis on „the Scottish case”. If the Scots remain in the UK, this should not lead London to triumphalism, because the situation will remain tense. The EU should also draw some conclusions. If it won’t give all its members a sense of self-fulfillment in the wider community and in the name of great ideas, the same tensions await it, as those that the British union is faced with today. The Scottish referendum demonstrates an important truth about the situation of Great Britain: roughly half of the Scottish society further questions the point of being in a union with England, Wales and Northern Ireland. 

They want to govern themselves, but remain in the European Union. At the same time, an increasing skepticism towards deeper integration of the continent is visible among many Europeans – for example, a referendum announced for 2017 will decide whether UK will continue its membership in the EU. These phenomena undoubtedly weaken Brussels’ efforts in regard to continuing the European project. It is vital then for the Community to take a critical look at the socio-political processes happening in the United Kingdom and draw conclusions in advance.

The analysis is available here: https://csm.org.pl/pl/raporty-i-analizy/category/53-2014?download=506