Investigating Scotland: Public Life, Sphere and Voices

Abstract

Scotland, the UK and most of the world exist within what is perceived and presented as a time of change, uncertainty and continual flux. This is partially true, but is contained in an ideological account of economics and power that sees globalisation and the forces shaping it as inevitable, all-powerful and irresistible (Friedman, 2005; Eckersley, 2004). Yet an inarguable truth is undeniable — that this era has seen unprecedented change take place, conventional assumptions challenged, and new forms of power and protest emerge (Ryan, 2010; Castells, 2012).