All around the world, eyes were on Scotland last week. Last Thursday’s referendum rejected the proposition that Scotland become an independent state. To many of us here, the fact that one province of a state held an independence referendum is itself remarkable. Indeed, this is democracy at its best. What further interests us is how business entities, both local and multinational, attempted to and did affect the regional referendum.

As what was once considered to be an utterly unlikely event was becoming more and more likely in the final stretch of the referendum campaign, multinational corporations and banks started to discuss the possibility of relocating their facilities and factories to Scotland if the region decided to leave the U.K. The possibility of changing investment plans and pulling out existing investments was also being mentioned here and there.

Perhaps the last thing business entities and foreign investors would want to see, at this juncture in the recovery from the global economic downturn, is the creation of yet another layer of uncertainty. As a matter of fact, the intended Scottish departure would usher in all sorts of business uncertainties: Would the new state retain EU membership? What currency would it use? How would the national assets be divided up between the new state and the U.K.? Any of these issues could potentially affect business interests enormously.

Whether or not these global business entities are just profit-driven fearmongers, they played a critical role in shaping the final outcome of the tight referendum. Swing voters were said to be swayed in no small part because of these last-minute announcements and warnings. Not surprisingly, these business entities gave a collective sigh of relief when the voting outcome was released.

In a sense, in Europe fast integration in the EU has steadily loosened the grip of central governments in the capitals. European integration has made traditional state borders ever more meaningless in the region. This in turn has made the benefits from remaining within the traditional state structures less appealing. In turn, this has fueled the desire for independence in Scotland and other parts of Europe where secessionist activities are taking place.

This centrifugal force has again been countered by a new centripetal force of multinational business entities, which have filled the vacuum created by the loosened powers of the central governments. These business entities have leverage against countries’ internal decision-making processes and they are not shy about using it to their advantage. When major business entities talk about catching the first flight out of town, there is little constituents can do. So, the high degree of integration has made the idea of going independent tempting, but the new force of private entities built on the same integration has pulled the rug out from under their feet.

Looming over this development are the various secessionist movements in Europe and other parts of the world. The evolution of the Scottish secession referendum must have been carefully watched by secessionist provincials considering similar options. They may have realized by now that large business entities’ endorsement or at least indifference is critical in pursuing even this highly political issue of independence.

For a long time, this issue has been considered a matter between a breakaway region and a central government. But we have now reached the point where mega corporations have presented themselves as a determining factor in the whole domestic decision-making process. Over the years, they have become real movers and shakers ― for better or for worse.

By Lee Jae-min

Lee Jae-min is an associate professor of law at Seoul National University. ― Ed.