Scotland will have a very difficult journey should it become a state independent from the United Kingdom, as other states that took the same road have experienced.

Scotland's bid for independence has gathered weak international support, with the U.S., Canada, Australia, India, and other world powers on the opposing side. Even under the best conditions, newly independent states usually encounter a lot of struggle before becoming stable politically and economically, The Guardian said.

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When Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, it gained a wide base of support from the U.S., U.K. and other governments, but until now has not achieved the expected political and economic stability.

Although Scotland holds more advantage over Kosovo in terms of economic status and abundance of resources, the Scottish National Party (SNP)'s campaign foresees it would embark on a rocky adventure if the "Yes" campaign prevailed.

It would take a long time before the international community fully accepts Scotland's independence and achieving that within Alex Salmond's targeted 18-month deadline is quite impossible, the report argued.

Scotland's Future, the white paper of the Scottish government, outlines membership with the European Union (EU) as its main goal by March 2016. However, the SNP still have so much to deal with, including issues such as immigration, currency union and the share in the British EU budget rebate.

A newly independent Scotland would have to face border control and passport problems during passage to England and Northern Ireland because of the differences in immigration policies. SNP Westminster affairs spokesperson Pete Wishart suggested boosting overseas immigration to deal with the problem, the report stated.

Contrary to SNP's vision, Scotland would also likely have a poor chance of being able to join North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) immediately because of Salmond's vow to close the Trident submarine bases to clear the state of nuclear weapons.

SNP plans to organize an independent army, navy and air force for Scotland using materials that were donated by London. At the same time, the party aims to achieve a security dividend of £500 million (US$816 million) in two or three years' time --- a goal that seems unachievable, according to the report.

However, Mariot Leslie, a former U.K. ambassador to NATO, countered that the organization's members would continue supporting an independent Scotland's role in NATO because they would not want to disrupt the defense agreements at a time when the region's ties with Russia are strained.

To implement its plans, SNP would have to secure an "extraordinary" level of goodwill from the London government despite the latter's opposition to the breakup and London might not be that willing to extend a helping hand to Scotland, said the report.

Scotland's journey as an independent state would be tough, and its population of around five million would struggle to make an impact on big international issues such as climate change, democracy and development. Scotland risks turning "irrelevant" in its bid to become independent, according to the paper.

TagsScotland, Independence, U.K., Yes campaign, Scottish National Party