Scottish Independence
This Thursday the Scottish Independence Referendum will occur. It will determine whether or not Scotland will be an independent country from the UK. There is much discussion world wide about how the outcome of the vote will affect international affairs. This whole situation can be thought of in terms of structural balance in a graph. However, in this case, the node of the graph representing the UK could potentially be breaking off into two separate nodes, which would affect the overall structural balance of the world.
One particular effect Scottish independence may have is the UK leaving the EU. Scotland is the power house of the labor party, and is needed for the party to maintain their power in the UK’s government. Without Scotland, labor will lose a huge number of votes, making it easier for conservatives in the UK to say they want out of the EU. With the UK gone, the EU will be severely weakened, causing the structural balance of the world’s international relations to be altered
Furthermore, the UK’s nuclear program is based in Scotland. If Scotland becomes independent, the UK loses their nuclear holdings. The UK would also lose a huge number of troops, forcing them to become less aggressive. This has bad repercussions for the US as it means losing our biggest ally.
Scotland wants to join the EU if they end up succeeding. However, they will face opposition from countries such as Spain, who are facing secessionist movements in their own countries. However, there are other factors to consider, such as Spain’s importation of salmon from Scotland, which may make them reluctant to oppose Scotland in joining the EU.
There are a lot of factors playing into the opinions each country has in favor or against the independence movement in Scotland, and these opinions will certainly play into the aftermath does Scotland vote “yes” to secession. It all has to do with how relations between countries will be changed and how that will affect the structural balance among them. It all ties back to networks!
http://news.yahoo.com/scottish-independence-could-mean-messy-divorce-084556829–finance.html