ABSTRACT
From one point of view, the restoration of the Scottish Parliament is a very small and timid step forward. The American sociologist, Michael Hechter in his book, Internal Colonialism, argued that England, as the core of the British state, denigrated the cultures of Scotland, Wales and Ireland to justify its political domination and that it used the 'voluntary assimilation of peripheral elites' for the purpose. Many of the most important cultural institutions, such as the National Library, Galleries and Museums, the Scottish Museums Council and Scottish Screen, are state funded but controlled by their own boards. The Scottish Arts Council is such a body. It is responsible for the distribution of Government funds for the support of the arts in Scotland, a hands-off device which avoids suspicion of political favouritism and also shelters the Government from the criticism of unpopular decisions.
