How can Scotland’s defence model contribute towards national resilience?

The flexibility that being a small state can bring will mean that Scotland can take an integrated, human-focused approach to national security, with our defence capabilities playing a role alongside other areas of government.

Resilience refers to the ability of a nation to rebound and rebuild from the aftermath of a shock or crisis. These may be flooding, disinformation campaigns, pandemics, power outages etc. In recent years, these crises have become all too familiar.

The more a society is resilient, the better it can withstand the risks, threats and impacts of these destabilising events, get back to normal and prosper.

An Independent Scotland would give the utmost prominence to enhancing the contribution that defencecan make to societal resilience, be that ensuring that the Army includes a resilience and response core or investing significantly in critical infrastructure in areas like health and digital so that there exists slack in the system to respond to crises.