The previous chapter outlines how immigration relates to nation-building in Scotland. It discusses elite consensus around a more modernist, civic conceptualisation of the nation, one that is inclusive, and where national identity is based primarily on residency, and not ancestry, ethnicity, or history. While ‘“it is in the elite that concepts of the nation are shaped and modified”; nevertheless, it is in the masses that the nation is given form and concrete substance’ (Leith and Soule 2011: 152, quoting Kearton 2005: 25). Is there divergence between elite and mass ideas about who the Scottish people are?

What does it mean to be Scottish? What characteristics does someone need to be considered Scottish? Who gets to decide? Identity questions are at the centre of political conversations in Scotland, because political actors across the ideological spectrum capitalise on who ‘we’ are, and what ‘we’ need. Defining identity is dialectic and intrinsically othering – deciding who ‘we’ are also determines who ‘they’ are, and linking a nationalist movement with an identity risks branding the movement as tribal or ethnic and parochial. And yet, as evidenced by the many proud citizens of immigrant-receiving nations, it is possible to have a strong national identity and to be welcoming to others who would like to join your nation. Some argue that ‘a strong national identity, albeit of a particular kind, is a prerequisite for a multicultural society’, because all nations are de facto multicultural in the sense that all nations contain diverse populations (Asari et al. 2008: 2). The construction of an inclusive and voluntaristic national identity that reflects this reality is vital for ensuring peace.

The Scottish political elites are developing a vision of Scottishness that is open and welcoming, but also one that (sometimes uncomfortably) grafts on to beloved distinctive elements of Scottish culture, music, literature, dialects, customs, laws, and institutions. Though the explicit conversation about nationalism and national identity occurs among the elites, the message targets the Scottish public, many of whom do not spend much time following politics and are not introspective about who they are as Scots and why it matters. This chapter examines public understandings of Scottish identity and whether Scottish people extend Scottish identity to minoritised groups. It also considers how members of minoritised groups relate to Scottish identity, and whether their experience with Scottish nationalism mirrors that of native-born Scots.