The Next Left: A Transatlantic Conversation Jonathan Freedland and Michael Walzer Published in Gerry Hassan (ed.), After Blair: Politics after the New Labour Decade, Lawrence and Wishart in association with Compass 2006. London May 23rd 2005 Dear Michael, In the Clinton-Blair years, progressive parties in Britain and the US joined forces, trading electoral techniques and even the ‘New’ philosophy that saw them shed unpopular positions on welfare, crime etc in order to become more electable: New Labour, New Democrats. In Britain that approach has weathered better than it did in the US: Labour is still in government while Democrats

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Changin’ Scotland No. 7  November 6th-8th 2005 Michael Fry on the Highland Clearances, Bruce Kent, Helen Steven and Ellen Moxley on the politics of the peace movement, the Edinburgh young peoples’ film ‘We Wont Get Fooled Again’ about the G8 Summit,  the film ‘How the West was Won’ on US politics and music from the Centre of Excellence for Traditional Music in Plockton.

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Changin’ Scotland No. 6  March 18-20th 2005 Christopher Harvie  on contemporary Scotland, Lesley Riddoch on Africa, Ruaraidh Nicholl, Gerry Hassan, Carol Craig and Alex Bell on Scotland 2020, Michael Russell chairing the Sunday ‘open’ session, plus the film ‘The Power of Good’ about the life of Nicholas Winton. Music from Nancy Nicolson.

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'an enticing mixture of fiction and commentary in the model of a 'European' cultural production'. Richard Parry, Scottish Affairs Scotland 2020: The Power of Hope Gerry Hassan and Eddie Gibb A unique feature of human consciousness is its inclusion of the future. Expectations strongly affect all aspects of human functioning. . . . Hope inspires a feeling of well-being and is a spur to action. Hopelessness, the inability to imagine a tolerable future, is a powerful motive for suicide. Jerome Frank, ‘The role of hope in psychotherapy’ (1) Introduction Scotland is a nation of narrators

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That was Then and This is Now: Imagining new stories about a northern nation Gerry Hassan Scotland has changed in the last 20 years. It has been transformed economically, socially, culturally and politically. It has a degree of self-government and a new set of political institutions. However, the way we think of and describe Scotland has not undergone a similar change; instead it is still rooted in a romanticised rose-tinted view of a past Scotland that is now long since gone. This chapter looks at the extent of change in Scotland over this period and the kind of changes

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Scotland in the Global Age: Rethinking Ukania, Europe and the New International Order Tom Nairn and George Kerevan in conversation This is a longer version of a conversation of which an abridged edition appeared in Gerry Hassan, Eddie Gibb and Lydia Howland (eds), Scotland 2020: Hopeful Stories for a Northern Nation, Demos 2005. Edinburgh October 5th 2004 Dear Tom, I feel like an old soldier parading for the Armistice, medals proudly on show, but just a bit quizzical about what we achieved in the conflict. For you and I are battle-scarred veterans of the Second Devolutionary War. The

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Scotland’s ‘Velvet Revolution’ Carol Craig in conversation with Tom Devine Published in Gerry Hassan, Eddie Gibb and Lydia Howland (eds), Scotland 2020: Hopeful Stories for a Northern Nation, Demos 2005. CC: I would like to start with a general discussion about Scotland and transformational change. The author of The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell, argues that people tend to see change as slow and incremental when in fact it is often rapid and transformatory. He argues that snow is a good example of this. When snow falls the temperature change is often minimal yet within minutes the world looks different. As

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Changin’ Scotland No. 5  November 19-21st 2004 Sheena Wellington, Bryan Beattie, Rita Hunter and Michael Russell on the Cultural Commission, Harry Reid and Bernard Aspinwall on the Scots and religion, Robbie the Pict on a life of campaigning, Michael Russell and Sergio Burns on their latest books, plus the film ‘Peace One Day’ on the campaign for an international day of peace.

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Changin’ Scotland No. 4  March 12-14th 2004 Tom Devine on the Scots and Empire, Bob Crampsey and Ian Black on Scottish football, David Hayman on ‘Spirit Aid’, George Kerevan, Caroline Leckie MSP, Eleanor Scott MSP and Kenny MacAskill MSP on the politics and culture of independence and Gerry Hassan on the Scottish Labour Party. Plus John Daly and Keith Hunter explore cultural, political and personal change. Music from Blazin’ Fiddles and the Ness River Rhythm Kings.

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Happiness, Well-Being and Economic Prosperity David Bell in conversation  with Clive Hamilton Published in Gerry Hassan, Eddie Gibb and Lydia Howland (eds), Scotland 2020: Hopeful Stories for a Northern Nation, Demos 2005 Stirling September 27th 2004 Dear Clive, I enclose my opening gambit to you. 1. The growth record of the Scottish economy is somewhat below that of the UK as a whole. Nevertheless, during the 1990s and early part of the new century, the UK has experienced higher rates of growth than most of the other G8 countries with the exception of the USA. Scottish GDP per

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