Foreboding Newness: Brexit and Feminist Civil Society in Scotland

Abstract

Constitutional politics has inflected Scottish politics over the past five years, as the electorate has voted twice in referenda that have sought its views on Scotland’s place in the unions of Europe and the UK. The engagement of women and women’s organisations in the two referenda stands in stark contrast. The independence referendum saw the establishment of new women’s organisations and networks to counteract a seeming marginalisation of women’s concerns in the official campaigns. The European referendum pre-election period, which overlapped with the local government election campaign in Scotland, saw limited national public engagement by women’s and other civil society organisations, and lacked a particular gender focus even in feminist spaces. Post-referendum, feminist and gender advocates are struggling to establish the four-nations mechanisms that would enable them to collaborate effectively to create a UK feminist response to the negotiations. This chapter considers these developments.