James Foley has recently completed his PhD on the Scottish economy since 1971 at the University of Edinburgh. He is the co-author of an article on contemporary referendums in the forthcoming issue of The Socialist Register and (with Pete Ramand) of Yes: The Radical Case for Scottish Independence (London: Pluto Press, 2014).Ben Wray is Head of Policy and Research with Common Weal foundation, is a columnist on the Commonspace website and previously worked for the Jimmy Reid Foundation.Neil Davidson (1957-2020) lectured in Sociology at the University of Glasgow and is the author of six books, including the Deutscher-Prize-winning Discovering the Scottish Revolution (London: Pluto Press, 2003) and, most recently, Nation-States: Consciousness and Competition (Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2016). He wrote some of the most widely-read analyses of the previous referendum and Scottish independence for print and on-line journals including Bella Caledonia, Jacobin, New Left Review, Radical Philosophy and Salvage.

The Scottish independence movement, as the authors show in this tour d'force analysis, has two contending souls. On one hand, the SNP provides yet another classic illustration of Robert Michel's 'iron law of oligarchy' - the tendency following electoral successes for progressive party leaders and politicians to build their own bureaucratic machines based on patronage and more conservative goals. On the other hand, the independence movement, still vividly alive at the grassroots, is the most realistic platform for socialist renewal in the ruins of UKania.

James Foley has recently completed his PhD on the Scottish economy since 1971 at the University of Edinburgh. He is the co-author of an article on contemporary referendums in the forthcoming issue of The Socialist Register and (with Pete Ramand) of Yes: The Radical Case for Scottish Independence (London: Pluto Press, 2014).Ben Wray is Head of Policy and Research with Common Weal foundation, is a columnist on the Commonspace website and previously worked for the Jimmy Reid Foundation.Neil Davidson (1957-2020) lectured in Sociology at the University of Glasgow and is the author of six books, including the Deutscher-Prize-winning Discovering the Scottish Revolution (London: Pluto Press, 2003) and, most recently, Nation-States: Consciousness and Competition (Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2016). He wrote some of the most widely-read analyses of the previous referendum and Scottish independence for print and on-line journals including Bella Caledonia, Jacobin, New Left Review, Radical Philosophy and Salvage.

The Scottish independence movement, as the authors show in this tour d'force analysis, has two contending souls. On one hand, the SNP provides yet another classic illustration of Robert Michel's 'iron law of oligarchy' - the tendency following electoral successes for progressive party leaders and politicians to build their own bureaucratic machines based on patronage and more conservative goals. On the other hand, the independence movement, still vividly alive at the grassroots, is the most realistic platform for socialist renewal in the ruins of UKania.

James Foley has recently completed his PhD on the Scottish economy since 1971 at the University of Edinburgh. He is the co-author of an article on contemporary referendums in the forthcoming issue of The Socialist Register and (with Pete Ramand) of Yes: The Radical Case for Scottish Independence (London: Pluto Press, 2014).Ben Wray is Head of Policy and Research with Common Weal foundation, is a columnist on the Commonspace website and previously worked for the Jimmy Reid Foundation.Neil Davidson (1957-2020) lectured in Sociology at the University of Glasgow and is the author of six books, including the Deutscher-Prize-winning Discovering the Scottish Revolution (London: Pluto Press, 2003) and, most recently, Nation-States: Consciousness and Competition (Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2016). He wrote some of the most widely-read analyses of the previous referendum and Scottish independence for print and on-line journals including Bella Caledonia, Jacobin, New Left Review, Radical Philosophy and Salvage.

The Scottish independence movement, as the authors show in this tour d'force analysis, has two contending souls. On one hand, the SNP provides yet another classic illustration of Robert Michel's 'iron law of oligarchy' - the tendency following electoral successes for progressive party leaders and politicians to build their own bureaucratic machines based on patronage and more conservative goals. On the other hand, the independence movement, still vividly alive at the grassroots, is the most realistic platform for socialist renewal in the ruins of UKania.