The discussion about Scottish independence affects more than just the Scottish electorate - it calls into question the very union created by two acts of Parliament in 1706 and 1707, which formed the nation of Great Britain we live in today. Beyond the often uninspiring and tedious practicalities of the current independence debate lie some important principles.

Some maintain that Great Britain was the first modern society based not on ethnicity or race, but on shared purpose and beliefs. Rather than being ‘formed at the end of a bayonet’, as were so many other states in the same period, it was instead a product of Enlightenment thinking which recognised shared economic and political values, and an intricately linked history.  

Questioning the value of patriotism and nationalism, Samuel Johnson declared in 1774 that: “Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel."  Scottish nationalism, the Yes campaign argue, is a modern, civic nationalism, devoid of older associations with racism and jingoism. And it's not the only nationalism enjoying increasing purchase today – a recent independence march in Edinburgh, for example, was attended by Catalan nationalists who are also looking to hold their own independence referendum. The nation state, supporters of Scottish devolution argue, is in decline around the world, being increasingly replaced by autonomous states working in economic and defence federations. Many argue that these resurgent national identities need not be viewed as parochial, inward looking or conservative, but rather reflect a new spirit of integration of smaller nations into the greater whole of the European Union, which itself aspires to act as a safeguard against sectarianism and the national conflicts of old.

Can those in favour of the union today make a valid case for maintaining it? Or is the growth of competing nationalisms the next inevitable shift in these islands' history? In the midst of British anxieties about social cohesion, what effect will the breakup of the union have? As the notion of nation states is increasingly being called into question, what does it means to be British, or indeed Scottish, today?

 Justine Brian: Justine is the National Coordinator of the Debating Matters competition for sixth form students.

 Dr Joe Jackson: Teaching Fellow, University of Warwick School of English Literature and Comparative Studies, Joe teaches "Devolutionary British Fiction 1940 to the present".

Jonathan Meades in his series on Scotland “Off Kilter” says that the independent nation is a delusional state.  

Brendan O’Neill links the Scottish independence campaign to the “divisive cult of identity politics” and argues there is a moral case for the Union.

Working people are beginning to see the Independence Referendum as presenting “the possibility of taking back some power for themselves,"writes Jonathan Shafi,  co-founder of the Radical Independence Campaign, in The Scotsman.  

Writer Alasdair Gray does not have much faith in the SNP but hopes that independence will mean in 2016 a new set of MSPs without old party allegiances will be elected who will “thoroughly and publicly debate important matters.”

Both Farage and Galloway are wrong about Scottish Nationalism, according to the Bella Caledonia online magazine, which is instead "articulating a vision for an internationalist, multicultural Scotland."

Patrick West gives an account of the differences between the Catalan and Scottish Independence campaigns.

We seem to live in a world where culture and education are more feminised. In schools, for example, things as diverse as emotional and personal development discussions during circle time and PHSE and selling off playing fields are pointed to as signs that traditional masculine values and behaviours are being demoted. In the West the increasing academic and professional success of girls and women is clear. Some complain that while we live a world where women are promoted as being equal to men, boys’ views of girls and relationships are being affected by the “bombardment” of pornography. That means that although girls are doing well, they now have more strongly to fend off boys who have got a distorted view of who they are and how they will behave. 

So have boys become disorientated? Is envy of girls’ success making them either so aggressive towards or shy of girls that they need mentors to help them negotiate their relationships, and even chat up girls? Do boys need better male role models, or better sex education, or even perhaps wider moral development education, to help them succeed? Or are boys and girls equally sensitive and strong enough to be able to find their own way in the world?

Speakers

Sally Millard
Sally is co-founder of the Institute of Ideas Parents Forum which was set up in 2006 to provide a meeting place for those who want to discuss policy developments in relation to children and parenting so that they can work out how to challenge them.

The debate is chaired and produced by Rosamund Cuckston.

Sexual advice charities such as Brook say teachers should not stop pupils from watching pornography

Ally Fogg appeals for better sex and relationships education for boys

Fraser Nelson argues that now, in the fight for equality, we should be looking out for young men
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2013/07/feminism-vs-egalitarianism-my-response-to-the-guardians-ally-fogg/

Laurie Penny observes that we don't have any models for post-patriarchy masculinity

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/may/16/masculinity-crisis-men

Birmingham University's Knightly Virtues programme for schools is aimed at both boys and girls

http://www.jubileecentre.ac.uk/417/projects/development-projects/knightly-virtues

A programme to teach boys how to chat up girls
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10522300/Schoolboys-taught-to-chat-up-girls-in-mentoring-scheme.html

Mashud Ally, Assistant Director of Equalities and Human Resources, Birmingham City Council. Mashud's responsibilities include co-ordination of the council's response to the government's Preventing Violent Disorder (PVE) strategy.

Dr Vanessa Pupavac, senior lecturer at University of Nottingham in School of Politics and International Relations, with research on humanitarianism, human rights and therapeutic governance.
The debate is produced and chaired by Dr Jo Hurlow.

Advocating alcohol abstinence to pregnant women: Some observations about British policy - Dr Pam Lowe and Dr Ellie Lee, Health Risk and Society Vol 12 Issue 4, July 2010