Since its establishment, the journal has hosted a number of debates within the left. The longest running has been the debate in response to Neil Davidson's Discovering the Scottish Revolution 1692–1746. Starting in Issue 5, Autumn 2003 with Allan Armstrong's Broadswords and Bayonets. Challenging left nationalist and left unionism in the SSPIndex to Issue 5 of Emancipation & Liberation the debate continued through to Issue 10, Summer 2005 with Caught Between the Covenant and the Clans.Index to Issue 10 of Emancipation & Liberation
