Open research questions in Scottish History and National Identity
129 gap statements mined from Scottish History and National Identity papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 1,601 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.
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What the literature leaves open
The study highlights the need to consider the centrality of military settlements to British ideas of human progress.
Soldiers, military settlements, and ideas of progress in the British empire, c. 1750–1840 · 2026 · DOIFurther research could explore the intersection of religious and military identities in other historical contexts. The Lord Leycester Hospital could be used as a model for understanding the complex relationship between the church and the military.
Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and his Hospital: Military Identity, Veterans and the Elizabethan Church, 1571–1603 · 2026 · DOIFuture research could explore the experiences of other religious institutions in early modern militaries. It could also examine the long-term implications of the Kirk's adaptation to a more collaborative role with military authorities.
The Kirk in Retreat: The Multi-Confessional British Army and Presbyterian Authority in Early Eighteenth-Century Scotland · 2026 · DOIThe lack of an official or agreed historically based list of who are Clans and who are not.
Towards a List of Clans and Families in Scotland—Identity Politics, Cultural Appropriation and Romantic Idealism · 2026 · DOIThe traditional historiography focuses on George Charles 'Boatswain' Smith, but this paper challenges that view. There is a need to re-examine the history of marine religious charities.
Sailors, Societies and Sectarianism: George Charles (‘Boatswain’) Smith and the Formation of the British and Foreign Sailor Society · 2025 · DOIThis final analysis of history and memory does much also to explain why the topic of occupation has not been fully explored before, and it helps situate the book not only within the larger historiography of the American Revolution but also within the growing trend of reexamining how and why we remember the past as we do, including investigations into the use of history for nation-building and myth creation.
Occupied America: British Military Rule and the Experience of Revolution by Donald F. Johnson · 2022 · DOIAlthough several historians have seen a connection between this rebellion and a slightly earlier one, which reportedly occurred in the north and was also led by someone known as Robin of Redesdale, it remains unclear what relationship if any there was between the two Robin of Redesdale rebellions and other northern uprisings in the spring and summer of 1469.
It is argued that explanations which invoke Scottish male chauvinism and misogyny alone are insufficient, and that the marginalization of women in Scotland is produced both by male domination within Scotland, and by English cultural and political hegemony within the UK.
Future research could explore the social commentary of other historical periods. The study's findings could be applied to other contexts, such as the examination of social change in other countries.
The author argues that the focus on long-term causes is insufficient. The paper aims to address this gap by examining the complex interactions between the English, Scottish, and Irish kingdoms.
The paper highlights the need to analyze the church's efforts to influence British policy.
Further study could examine the impact of chaplains on military personnel. Research could investigate the evolution of military chaplaincy over time. The role of chaplains in other historical military contexts could be explored.
The paper is limited by the author's perspective as a historian. The analysis is based on the author's interpretation of the current state of British history.
It highlights the lack of proper education and training in midwifery prior to Thomas Young's appointment.
The lack of understanding of the diaconate's role in the Church. The need for effective formation and training of deacons.
There is no official or agreed historically based list of who are Clans and who are not. The assumption of the term 'Clan' by non-Highland surname societies skews the authentic history and culture of Scotland.
Towards a List of Clans and Families in Scotland—Identity Politics, Cultural Appropriation and Romantic Idealism · 2026 · DOIHistories of protest in the Highlands and Islands have been largely limited to the study of dramatic and large-scale events driven by issues of possession of and access to land after 1850.
Patrick Gordon’s Ukrainian period is poorly researched, and most of the records representing the Scotsman’s stay in Ukrainian lands in 1667–1677 and 1678–1684 have been lost.
The Activities of the Scotsman Patrick Gordon in Kyiv (Based on the Materials of the Diary of 1684–1685) · 2024 · DOIIt argues that the concept of providence has been overlooked in previous studies of the period.
The main source for Robert, earl of Gloucester's activities is his admirer, William of Malmesbury, which may not provide a complete picture of his role and character.
Even more significantly, there was a notable shift in the Kirk’s legal ground for disciplining soldiers: when persisting local grievances prompted the Assembly again to seek redress in 1724, it merely asked the commanding officers to suppress vices ‘by a due Execution of the Articles of War against Immoralitys’, without any reference to its own discipline or the royal proclamations.75 This was a clear admission…
The Kirk in Retreat: The Multi-Confessional British Army and Presbyterian Authority in Early Eighteenth-Century Scotland · 2026 · DOIThe lack of understanding of the process of discipline in the British military during the later Eighteenth Century, - The gap in existing research on the role of regimental courts martial in dispensing military…
British Military Law, Discipline, and the Conduct of Regimental Courts Martial in the later Eighteenth Century · 1987 · DOIThe absence of academic attention to the articulation of racism in Scotland since 1945, - The need to explain why 'race relations' have not been defined as problematic…
The gap between the image of Britain and the reality of everyday behaviour - The need to treat the period of growth and stability in the 1950s and 1960s…
The paper identifies a gap in understanding Kay-Shuttleworth's life and character - It explores his relationships with his family and his views…
Most-cited papers in Scottish History and National Identity
- British Colonial Legacies and Political Development · World Development · 2004 · 220 citations
- Britishness and Otherness: An Argument · Journal of British Studies · 1992 · 143 citations
- The Magnetic Crusade: Science and Politics in Early Victorian Britain · Isis · 1979 · 119 citations
- British History: A Plea for a New Subject · The Journal of Modern History · 1975 · 109 citations
- The Imagineering of Resistance: Pollok Free State and the Practice of Postmodern Politics · Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers · 1997 · 103 citations
- Nation and empire: English and British national identity in comparative perspective · Theory and Society · 2000 · 98 citations
- Social Control in Victorian Britain · The Economic History Review · 1981 · 89 citations
- Glimpses of the Unmentionable in the History of British Social Anthropology · Annual Review of Anthropology · 1984 · 84 citations
- New Firm Formation in the British Counties with Special Reference to Scotland · Regional Studies · 1991 · 79 citations
- Parliamentarization of popular contention in Great Britain, 1758-1834 · Theory and Society · 1997 · 72 citations
Most recent work
- Beyond Kenmure Street: lifecycles of antiracism amongst activists in Glasgow · Ethnic and Racial Studies · 2026
- Global Britain: Imaginaries, identities, and ontological security · Politics · 2026
- Soldiers, military settlements, and ideas of progress in the British empire, c. 1750–1840 · Journal of Global History · 2026
- Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and his Hospital: Military Identity, Veterans and the Elizabethan Church, 1571–1603 · Studies in Church History · 2026
- The Kirk in Retreat: The Multi-Confessional British Army and Presbyterian Authority in Early Eighteenth-Century Scotland · Studies in Church History · 2026
- Scotland, Union, and the French Revolution : an intellectual history of the debates concerning social order and commercial society in Scotland, with a final chapter concerning Ireland, c. 1771–1805 · Open MIND · 2026
- Colonel Romsey: the life in full · Historical Research · 2026
- Migrations of Manuscripts 2025 · The Journal of Legal History · 2026
- Trustees, Deacons, and Deaconesses: The Temporal Role of the Shaker Sisters, 1820-1890 · Communal Societies · 2026
- ‘Globalization’ and the dream of progress · Modern British history. · 2026
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