STEPHEN MAXWELL was active in the debate on Scotland's political future for four decades. A native of Edinburgh, he studied at the universities of Cambridge and the London School of Economics before teaching and researching in international politics at the universities of Sussex and Edinburgh and at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London. He was the SNP's national press officer between 1973 and 1977 and subsequently a Lothian Regional Councillor and director of the SNP's campaign for a Yes vote in the 1979 Scottish Assembly referendum. Until October 2009 he was Associate Director of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations.JAMIE MAXWELL is a Scottish political journalist. He has contributed to New Statesman and The Scotsman, and is currently on the editorial team of Bella Caledonia.