ABSTRACT
Analyses of racism in Britain rarely make any specific reference to Scotland. Yet within Scotland a clear differentiation is made between England and Scotland, sustained by the claim that ‘race relations’ is an English problem, absent north of the border. Various explanations for this alleged difference are offered, ranging from references to the size of the ‘immigrant population’ to a hypothesized ‘natural tolerance’ of the Scottish people. These explanations are widely articulated in the Scottish press and in the Scottish political process and have been endorsed by a number of academic commentators (e.g. Harvie 1981, p. 67).
