Security

A Scotland in which our national security is secured through effective planning, a sound military, good intelligence and a commitment to peace-making.

Some SECURITY Related Reports

Towards a Defence & Security Strategy for an independent Scotland ↗

A blueprint for a Scottish security strategy that takes on the actual, realistic threats to our nation-state.

Preparing Scotland Digitally for Independence↗

One of the major threats to Scotland is our digital resilience. Part of our strategy for government and public IT systems should be to ensure they are secure.

Establishing Scotland as a welcoming country with positive global interactions. A primary school pupil describes the changes to Scotland’s security.

Read as Alex lets us know about Scotland’s improved security and position in the world since independence. Through the lens of a fictional character Common Weal demonstrates how the policies from Sorted could create an independent Scotland with a solid security stance. By being non-aligned and not having nuclear weapons Scotland can be a peacekeeping nation. While watching, think how this could impact you.

Alex's Story

Hi I’m Alex,

Today in school we’ve been learning about Scotland’s security.

I feel really safe living in Scotland, and I like that we’re a peace-loving nation.

Although we’ve had to think about a few things in Scotland from climate change and the risk of rising sea levels, to cyber security and pandemics, we still have an ethical approach to everything. That means we think about how our actions affect other nations.

Mum and dad are really proud that we’re non-aligned. I didn’t know what they were talking about but they explained it. Scotland isn’t part of any military gang that means we need to join wars we don’t need to. It doesn’t mean we don’t work with our friends, because we do. But it means we can make our own decisions. I was amazed to find out how many stupid wars we used to be involved in. We wouldn’t be alone though as nearly two-thirds of the world's countries also do this.

Unfortunately the baddies aren’t always far away in other countries, sometimes they are cyber threats, and this means they can hack into something that’s really important to us, like our energy system or our internet. So we have our very own Cyber Security Agency to help stop this, and we can then share that information with other countries.

I think it’s really important that Scotland no longer has nuclear weapons, because we can help to promote peace and take the target off our backs. Before this Scotland housed one of the largest nuclear arsenals in Europe.

Scotland is surrounded by water and that’s why we have focused on making sure they are safe for fishing, renewable energies and that we deter smugglers. I also think it’s really cool that the new Scottish army and navy not only help to patrol our waters, but they go to other countries to help with peacekeeping and disaster relief.  

Although there’s been a lot of change I feel really good about living in Scotland.

Scotland has the capacity to establish itself as a welcoming country with foreign policy that doesn’t impose itself on anyone else's way of living. Don't we all deserve to feel secure?

So how can we move closer to this horizon? We have a plan to get Scotland #Sorted head to the link to explore more ideas surrounding this.