National Identity Construction During the Referendum campaign for
Scottish Independence 2014.
A Critical Discourse Analysis
Asha Manikiza 861123T369
International migration and Ethnic Relations One-year Master Thesis (IM627L)
Spring semester 2018
Supervisor: Anne Sofie Roald Word Count: 15,888
Abstract
Scotland is one of the four nations that make up the plurinational UK. It is as of yet the only one of these nations to have a referendum on its independence. Using Critical Discourse Analysis of 20 newspaper articles at different times in the referendum campaign, I have seen how Scottish national identity has been constructed. The study reveals that far from constructing a national identity based on culture, symbols or historic myth, the Scots base their identity largely on a differing approach to economic policy than the English.
Keywords: Scotland, Critical Discourse Analysis, Newspapers, National identity construction, Referendum
Contents Page
Abstract
Table of Contents
Abbreviations
1. Introduction 1
1.2 Aim and Research question 1
1.3 Delimitations 2
1.4 Research Relevance 2
1.5 Terminalogical Explannations 2
1.6 Thesis Structure 3
2. Contextual Background 4
2.1 The Scottish Question: A historical Overview 4
2.2 Why Focus on Scotland? 4
2.3 Why the Increase In Scottish Nationalism? 5
2.4 Why Focus on the Referendum Campaign for Scottish Independence 2014? 5
2.5 Role of the Newspapers in national identity construction 6
3. Previous Research 7
3.1 The Shifting Concept of a Scottish National Identity and Britishness 7
3.2 The Crisis of Union and the move towards Independence 8
4. Theoretical Framework 10
4.1 Banal Nationalism 10
4.2 Imagined Communities 11 5. Research Design 13 5.1 Ontology and Epistemology 13
5.2 Nature of the Research 13
5.3 Qualitative case study approach: Referendum campaign for Scottish independence 13 5.4 Research Method: Critical Discourse Analysis 14
5.5 Newspapers as Discourse 15
5.6 Samples and Criteria 16
5.7 Analysing the data 19 5.8 Validity and reliability 20
5.9 Role of the researcher 20
5.10 Ethical considerations 20
6.1 The Construction of a Scottish national identity in August (Articles-10) 21 6.2 The Construction of a Scottish national identity in September (Articles 11-20) 27 6.3 Identity construction in August and September: A comparison 35
7. Conclusion 37 8. Further Research 38 Bibliography 38
Abbreviations
CDA Critical Discourse Analysis EU European Union
FPTP First Past The Post (electoral system)
IMER International Migration and Ethnic Relations NHS National Health Service
SME Small and Medium-sized Enterprise SNP Scottish National Party
UK United Kingdom
SIRD Social-Identity Deprivation Model SSAS Scottish Social Attitudes Survey
1. Introduction
In this thesis I will explore the way in which a Scottish identity has been constructed in newspapers during the referendum campaign for Scottish independence in 2014, using Critical Discourse Analysis. It will explore a Scottish national identity within the context of being unified in the United Kingdom (UK).
The UK is comprised of four nations; England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The plurinational nature of the UK has been the subject of much discussion in recent years, particularly with the rise of nationalism, more specifically Scottish nationalism. On 18th September 2014 the Scottish had a referendum which posed the question; ‘Should Scotland be an independent country?’ (GOV.UK). The simplistic yes/no response saw the No side to victory with a narrow win of 55.3% (ibid) of the vote.
Unlike other minority nations where the factor of having a separate language is a crucial component to the construction of the national identity, which separates them from the dominant culture as with Catalonia in Spain or Quebec in Canada, the Scottish share the same language as England and speak English. Scottish Gaelic is a minority language spoken in Scotland by an estimated 1.4% of Scots (BBC,UK), with English being by far the dominant language. The Scottish have not needed the uniqueness of a separate language in order to construct an identity that is not British, and this makes their identity much more interesting to explore.
A referendum campaign for a nations independence is a time when the idea of what the nation actually is is intensified in order to convince the public to sway one way or the other, due to the fact that you can only vote one way or the other; independent or remain as part of the status quo. Politicians in the United Kingdom, particularly the then British Prime Minister David Cameron was instrumental in the remain camp, conveying an image of the United Kingdom inclusive of Scotland with the cross party ‘Better Together’ campaign (WhatScotlandThinks).
1.2 Aim and Research Question
The aim of this thesis is to explore how a Scottish national identity has been constructed in the independence referendum in 2014 by using CDA to analyse newspaper articles that were published during the referendum campaign. In order to achieve the aim of the thesis it will be necessary to focus on a case study; the 2014 Referendum Campaign for Scottish Independence. This case has been chosen because during this time the idea of a Scottish nation was most fiercely promoted. In support of pursuing the aim, there will be one research question which will lead to the effective answering of the central research question. This is as follows:
How has a Scottish national identity been constructed in the independence referendum campaign of 2014?
In answering the research question this thesis will be able to explore the construction of a Scottish identity within the particular case study. It will expose the way in which certain media outlets, in this case newspapers, can construct identity. This question is directly related to the case study and this has the intention of exploring how the idea of a Scottish nation is constructed.
1.3 Delimitations
This thesis will focus only on Scottish identity construction within the United Kingdom. It will not look at an English, Welsh or Northern Irish identity other than to refer to them in brief comparison. The case study will only explore identity construction from mid-late August and 8 days prior to the voting day on 18th September. This allows for a narrower focus and will allow for a more valid conclusion by looking at a wider time span throughout the campaign.
I will focus solely on newspapers published during the referendum campaign. I have chosen this because I am specifically interested in this time period.
I will only look at newspapers to gather data in my research. This is because I am only interested in how a Scottish national identity is constructed by UK newspapers in the period outlined above. I have chosen to look at UK wide newspapers (newspapers published in the whole of the UK and read in Scotland) and Scottish based newspapers (regional newspapers based in Scotland).
I will only look at the text of the newspapers, not pictures. I will not be using semiotics in this thesis. I am only interested in constructions of national identity in the text of the newspaper articles.
1.4 Research Relevance
This research is highly relevant to the IMER field which is inclusive of nationalism studies. The thesis explores the highly subjective issue of national identity within the context of the UK. Furthermore, it explores how a national identity can be constructed in the media (newspapers) during an emotionally charged and highly divisive referendum campaign.
1.5 Terminological explanations
I will now provide some terminological explanations for the terms that will frequently be used throughout the thesis.
Firstly I will elucidate the term Scot or Scottish. I will use the Oxford dictionary term for the word which is described as, ‘a native of Scotland or a person of Scottish descent.’ (Oxford Dictionary). This is inclusive of all ethnicities and ethnic minorities native to Scotland.
The second term I will explain is the term British. This term is generally understood as being an overarching reference to the population that make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Great Britain encompasses Scotland, England and Wales because these nations are geographically on the island of Great Britain whereas Northern Ireland is to the north of Ireland. The term British is also synonymous with citizenship which follows a Jus Soli notion meaning that those individuals born in the UK are entitled to the rights enjoyed by all other British citizens regardless of ethnicity or religion. The important point here is that all nations of the UK share the same citizenship and are all referred to as British, inclusive of Northern Ireland. Therefore a Scottish identity co-exists with a British identity by virtue of being a British citizen.
Third, a national identity can be seen ‘as a complex of common ideas, concepts or perception schemes’ (Wodak et al,1999:153) which are ‘internalised through ‘national’ socialisation’ (ibid:153).
Fourth, I will explain what is meant by the construction of a national identity and I will assume that ‘the construction of national identity builds on the emphasis on a common history,’ (Wodak et al,1999:155). Extending from this explanation it is important to note that the ‘construction of nations and national identities always runs hand in hand with the construction of difference/distinctiveness and uniqueness’ (ibid:153). In other words in order to emphasises a sense of distinct Scottishness it is necessary to otherise a different group (or a group that is perceived to be different) in this case the English.
1.6 Thesis Structure
In this thesis I will continue with a contextual background where I will provide a historical overview of the relationship between Scotland and England, and the development of Scottish nationalism. In the theoretical framework I will explore banal nationalism and Anderson’s imagined communities. I will then continue to outline how I will research the topic in Research Methods. In the Analysis Discussion I will present my findings from the data collected. This will follow with a Conclusion where I summarise the findings and provide a conclusive answer to the research question. I will finish the thesis with a suggestion for further research.
2. Contextual Background
In this section I will provide relevant detailed context to the thesis by providing a historical overview. I will explore the issues revolving around Scotland in the context of the UK and elaborate why it is particularly interesting to investigate of Scotland. Furthermore I will explain why there was an increase in Scottish nationalism in the last decades as well as what role newspapers play in national identity construction.
2.1 The Scottish Question: A Historical Overview
The Act of Union in 1707 unified Scotland with England and Wales creating the United Kingdom as it is known today. This union has lasted over 311 years, throughout which time Scotland has constructed a national identity of its own, independent of the United Kingdom. In the political arena the Scottish National Party (SNP) have inherently been the most vocal and avid advocates of Scottish independence viewing ‘national self-determination’ as a ‘national right of the Scots’ (Brand,1990:26). Since the Thatcher years (1979-1990) in the UK the Scottish economy’s previous advances in the 1960’s began to suffer a setback and growth slowed down considerably (Brand,1990:26). The SNP had steadily increased its appeal during this period which also saw a rise in unemployment (Brand,1990:27), by establishing itself as ‘a viable alternative for Scotland’(Brand, 1990:35). This consequently saw a notable rise in nationalist rhetoric in Scotland. In response to this the Blair government of 1997 held a referendum to establish a Scottish Parliament (GOV.UK)which resulted in the Scotland Act 1998 whereby the UK parliament devolved powers to Scotland in a process known as devolution. Although the UK Parliament remains the sovereign body of British politics the Scotland Act 1998 established a devolved legislature (GOV.UK).
2.2 Why Focus on Scotland?
The plurinational nature of the UK makes Scotland an interesting case. Devolution was effectively given to prevent a ‘potential dissolution of the British union,’(Dekavala,2016:795). This meant that the Scottish Parliament was now revived after a 292 year period of absence. It is worth noting that the Scottish Parliament was granted financial devolution which involved tax raising powers and was voted for by 63.5% of the electorate (Keating,1998:226). Despite this extra power it is important to remember that the Scottish Parliament is still restricted in terms of what legislation it can pass and ultimately the sovereignty in the UK lies within the UK parliament.
In the context of the UK , Scotland remains the most interesting in terms of the rise of nationalist sentiment largely because unlike Wales it has ‘no equivalent language representing a marker of national identity’ (Bond,2006:613). Scottish Gaelic does not have official status in the UK and is
spoken by a mere 1.4% of Scots who would also be bilingual speaking English (BBC, 2014). This effectively means that English is the native language of the Scots, although it should be mentioned that the English language spoken by Scots can be described as a dialect of English and is sometimes referred to as Scottish English, it is still mutually intelligible with English speakers. Unlike Wales and perhaps Northern Ireland where the 6.6% of the population speak Irish Gaelic (BBC,2014), Scotland has seen the most increase in nationalism. The national identity in Britain ‘is further problematised by the multinational nature of the British state’(Bond,2006:612). This effectively means that the national identities of Scotland (Wales, Northern Ireland and England) exist in ‘parallel to Britishness’ (Bond,2006:612).
2.3 Why the increase in Scottish nationalism?
The main reasons for the increase in nationalism in Scotland are inherently political. The Thatcherism of the 1980’s served to increase Scottish nationalism and strain Anglo-Scottish relations. There has also been a move to the centre-left politically in Scotland whilst in England there has been a steady continuation of a centre-right. The UK’s FPTP (First Past The Post) electoral system effectively means that the majority party that gains the most votes wins. In the general election of 2010 ‘there was a stark difference in support for the Conservative Party between England and Scotland,’ (McNaughton,2012:99) with the Conservatives only gaining a mere one seat in Scotland (ibid:99) with just 16.7% of the vote to the Conservatives (BBC:2015). The problem of Scotland voting for Labour and England voting for Conservative is a paradox which has not been resolved and although Scotland is an integral part of the UK’s ‘economic and political unit’ (Meech, Kilborn,1992:245) it is a unit primarily controlled by London.
Within the Union Scotland has still been able to maintain a separate Church from the Church of England, legal and education system. As a result of these institutions being separate and compounded with an anarchic FPTP have served to increase the feeling of nationalist sentiment.
2.4 Why focus on the referendum campaign for Scottish Independence 2014?
A referendum can be described as being when the electorate in its entirety is ‘asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal’(Meech,Kilbourn,1992:245).In a referendum campaign in which the independence of a nation is the question to be put forward to the electorate, there are often differing ideas put forward by the media, politicians and the public about what the national identity is or should be. The question put forward to the electorate was a simplistic binary one based on the assumption that the proportion of the electorate that identified themselves with being British would vote Yes and those identifying themselves as Scottish would vote No. The question was directly related to identity and more specifically a national identity. The national identity in Britain ‘is
further problematised by the multinational nature of the British state’(Bond,2006:612). This effectively means that the national identities of Scotland (Wales, Northern Ireland and England) exist in ‘parallel to Britishness’ (Bond,2006:612).
The eligibility to vote in the independence referendum was specified as being open to ‘all people living in the territory’ (Grotenhuis,2016:68) provided they were Scottish or citizens of the EU. This inevitably meant that that many English people residing in Scotland were able to vote whilst Scots residing elsewhere in the UK were unable to have their say in the ballot box. The English have often been regarded by many Scots as ‘a salient outgroup’ (Abrams, Grant,2012:675). Even so the English are Scotland’s biggest minority group (Bond,2006:614) but due to their ‘ethnic, cultural and religious similarity’ (Bond,2006:614) to the Scottish they have remained a ‘hidden’ (ibid:614) minority. Due to the government’s keenness to avoid creating ‘a purist, primordial image of Scotland’ (Grotenhuis,2016:69) the large English minority were able to vote in the referendum demonstrating that the divide between Scottishness and Englishness is not seen as a ethnic one. The political elites in Scotland have been keen to promote what has been coined aspirational pluralism (Meer,2015:1487) where defining who is and who is not Scottish along ethnic boundaries is avoided. These ‘Scottish political elites express their nationalism as a ‘political’ and not a ‘social’ matter,’(Meer,2015:1487). This type of civic nationalism in Scotland has meant that there is a trend among not only ‘majorities but among ethnic minorities, in identifying themselves with the nation,’ (Meer,2015:1492).
2.5 The Role of the newspapers in National Identity Construction
This thesis is concerned with the way in which the Scottish national identity has been constructed through the newspaper articles. The media play a pivotal role ‘in relation to the collective identity of Scotland and the Scots’ (Meech,Kilborn,1992:245), particularly in the context of the referendum campaign. In academia ‘coverage of referendums in the news is comparatively an under-researched area’ (Dekavalla,2016:794). The media still has the significant role of being a focal source of information for people particularly in the context of a referendum campaign (ibid:794). Newspapers in Scotland, specifically Scottish newspapers such as The Herald have long held a role of ‘helping to maintain a separate civil society and separate sphere,’ (Dekavalla,2016:796) from that of the rest of the UK. The media has the ability to ‘frame’ (ibid:797) certain debates and events by selecting and emphasising certain aspects of ‘a perceived reality’(Entman cited Dekavalla,2006:797). This then influences how the reader interprets reality. Newspapers are also able to play an important role ‘in cementing the national form’ (Law,2001:300). It has been noted by Law that many ‘forgetfully assume British press homogeneity’(Law,2001:303) neglecting that Scotland has its own national newspapers, The Herald being one such example. This is important because if we assume as stated
earlier that the media employ frames to present a version of reality then the nationality of the newspaper doing the reporting will be effectual to the content of the news. The news often acts as a point of access for information regarding a topic. In regards to the referendum for independence different newspaper articles emphasized different issues that perhaps they felt would relate to their readers.
3. Previous Studies
The purpose of this section is to provide an overview of the previous studies regarding the shifting concept of a Scottish national identity and the problems faced by the Union which have resulted in the move towards Scottish independence. There is an abundance of literature on the subject of Scottish nationalism and I have chosen to focus on key studies that explore the two sub-sections below. Sub-section 3.1 is important because there has been a shift in the concept of a Scottish identity and changing in what it means to be British. Section 3.2 is equally important because the Union has faced problems which have lead to a move towards independence.
3.1 The shifting concept of a Scottish National Identity and Britishness.
In a study by Ichijo, where grounded theory is used to analyse various forms of Unionist political discourse including political speeches by Scottish politicians and debates in the Scottish parliament. The study employed CDA to analyse the data (Ichijo,2012:26). Ichijo found that in the context of a devolved Scotland and within the Unionist discourse regarding a Scottish national identity ‘acknowledging the possession of multiple national identities is made unproblematic’ (Ichijo,2012:29). Ichijo also found that within this Unionists discourse the existence of the ‘Scottish nation’ (Ichijo,2012:34) is not questioned but, ‘has not produced a homogeneous idea about the Union and Britain’ (ibid:34). Ichijo concludes the study with the observation that having the ability to claim being both Scottish and British with the context of Unionist political discourse is a major development which has been aided by devolution (ibid:34). According to this study the Unionists have a concept of a Scottish national identity which incorporates Scottishness and Britishness to varying degrees. The study also concludes that there has been a shift in the discussion about a Scottish national identity towards ‘debates on Britishness’ (ibid:35).
A study by Henderson and McEwen was focused on ‘the role of values in political discourse’ by focusing on two case studies, one being the UK and Scotland and the other being Canada and Quebec (Henderson,McEwen 2005:188). In this study they found that the dual identity of Scottish and British became more problematic since the 1980’s (ibid:187). During the Thatcher government of the 1980’s ‘Scottish civic values of ‘community and social justice’ (ibid:186) differed by the
Thatcherite values like ‘self interest, distrust of foreigners and constitutional rigidity . . . [and a] lack of commitment to social justice’(ibid:186). This resulted in ‘Scots increasingly defining themselves as primarily Scottish rather than British’ (ibid:187). In attempt to unite the two national identities the Labour government under the Premiership of Gordon Brown attempted to ‘retrieve a sense of compatibility between being Scottish and British, drawing upon the discourse of shared values’(ibid:187). British values were said to be a commitment to public services and social justice, being international and outward looking, tolerant and democratic (Brown, Alexander, 1999, cited ibid:186). Henderson and McEwen concluded that shared values alone were ‘an insufficient basis upon which to build national unity’ (ibid:188). Instead such values in discourse serve ‘as a tool in the politics of nation-building’ (ibid:189).
The final key study here is that of Bechhofer and McCrone where they investigate the presumed decline in Britishness (Bechhofer, McCrone,2007:252) by using a combination of data collected from the ‘Scottish and British Social Attitudes Surveys’(ibid:252) and asking people who did not identify with a British identity whether this was an expression of ‘hostility to `state' identity, and to British history and culture’ (ibid:252). Bechhofer and McCrone found that the ‘majority of people in Scotland and in England take some pride in being British’ (ibid:258). They did find that Scottish people tended to identify with being ‘more strongly Scottish’ (ibid:258) than being British but they did not have a negative view of the term British, or of the history of the British Isles (Empire and so forth) (ibid:252). The important finding of this study is that the data collected ‘show clearly that a sense of Britishness is still widespread in England and Scotland’(ibid:259). This indicates that Britishness is on the whole an accepted form of national identity in Scotland and in England. 3.2 The crisis of Union and the move towards Independence.
A study by Keating provides an in-depth discussion of Unionist politics by discussing what the results of various opinion and polls and data collection studies have shown about the difference between English and Scottish opinions on certain issues. Keating says that according to the various opinion polls, between 25-50% of the Scottish population are in favour of independence in some form or another (Keating, 2010: 365). More interestingly Keating points out that the opinion polls have shown that there is a similar amount of support for an independent Scotland in England (ibid:365). Keating also notes that preceding surveys indicate that there is little difference between Scottish and English voters in terms of being left or right wing on welfare policy, with only a marginal tendency to vote more left wing in the boarder counties something this region has in common with the north of England close to the Scottish boarder (ibid:371). Keating explained that attitudes towards Europe were also more similar (at the time of the data collection) towards the EU. The Scottish Social Attitudes Survey (SSAS) showed that Euroscepticism was only slightly less
pronounced than it was in England (ibid:376). It was also found that on the most part, people in Scotland identified with being ‘both British and Scottish’ (ibid:377). Keating concluded that although the ‘Union is loosening’ (ibid:382) it does not mean that as a consequence there will be an independent Scotland. The attitudinal differences between English and Scottish on the whole remain quite marginal. Keating argued that the UK has been effective in acknowledging the fact that it is made up of different nations, and it has managed to avoid suppressing these national identities. As a consequence of this ‘lack of an assimilating union’ the Scottish have been able to pursue a path of independence (ibid:384).
In a study by Abrams and Grant a ‘Social-Identity and Relative Deprivation model’ (or SIRD)(Abrams, Grant,2011:674) was used to measure how both social identity and deprivation were effectual to the political affiliation of Scottish people (ibid:674). More specifically Abrams and Grant wanted to find out whether people in deprived areas were more likely to vote for the nationalist SNP. The data was collected from a sample of Scottish teenagers in 1988 located in Kerkcaldy, a relatively deprived area at the time of the data collection (ibid:675). Social identity theory was integrated with relative deprivation theory in the SIRD model in order to analyse the data (ibid:676). This study found that the respondents in the sample that identified more strongly with a Scottish identity were more likely to to agree with the nationalist sentiments of the SNP (ibid:681) and ‘felt more frustrated and dissatisfied’ that wages were lower in Scotland than in England (ibid:682). The SIRD model employed by Abrams and Grant suggested that a ‘strong social identity together with intense dissatisfaction’ as a result of social injustices directed at minority groups can lead to ‘social change beliefs’ (ibid:687). These beliefs are often are accompanied by a need to correct these injustices (ibid:687), leaving voting as the ‘single most important’ way to exercise political and social change (ibid:687).
4. Theoretical Framework
I will be using two approaches to nationalism; banal nationalism and imagined communities. Both approaches to nationalism come from the Modernist school of thought. Scotland is anomalous within nationalist approaches, and therefore can not be elucidated adequately with many of the existing approaches. Both approaches I will use are able to explain the construction of a national identity in the context of the referendum campaign for independence.
4.1 Banal nationalism
Banal nationalism is a concept originally put forward by Billig to refer to what he has described as the daily indication of the nation through everyday representations that encourage a shared sense of national belonging among citizens (Billig,1995:6). Such habitual reproductions of nationhood are present in everyday life such as through political discourse, newspaper articles and national symbols like the national flag (ibid:6). This essentially means that ‘nationhood is near the surface of contemporary life’ (Billig,1995:93). According to Billig it is the daily habitual practices of people that constitute the banal form of nationalism. In the so-called ‘established nations’ (ibid:8) there is a constant state of reminding citizens of the nation through the ‘‘flagging’ of nationhood’ (ibid:8). Waving of the national flag, singing the national anthem at sporting events all play a role in reinforcing the national identity. For Billig nationalism is an ‘endemic condition’ (ibid:6) in which it is so subtable it becomes almost unnoticeable. Billig emphasises the use of language in the form of unnoticeable words and phrases in reinforcing the concept of the homeland and the nation (ibid:93). This subtle form of nationalism in the form of nation ‘flagging’ (ibid:8,93) of‘the homeland daily’(ibid:93) is prevalent in newspapers and political discourse. This type of flagging within the nation effectively maintains the national identity of its citizenry (ibid:69) by reminding the citizens of their national identity through their constant encounters of ‘flagged signs of nationhood’ (ibid:69). Billig explains that such a ‘salient situation’ (ibid:69) does not appear in in a vacuum but that it an aspect of ‘banal life’ that exists in contemporary world of nation states (ibid:69). This effectively means that this type of banal nationalism is a way of life, as opposed to an oddity reserved for states on the periphery or extremist/sectionist movements (ibid:69).
A significant aspect of banal nationalism explored by Billig is the ‘syntax of hegemony’ (ibid:87). This is where the subtle use of terms such as us, we, them, and you (ibid:87) are all references to the nation and other nations. This can be seen where national leaders such as the Prime Minister in Great Britain or President of the USA make comments such as ‘our’ and ‘we.’ In regards to this syntax which are commonly heard in political rhetoric Billig argues it is seen as patriotism as opposed to nationalism. This implies that nationalism which is seen as negative is something alien
and not belonging to ‘us’ (Billig,1995). Billig has brought to attention the importance of nationalism as a form of daily discourse in the contemporary world of nation states, and most importantly shown that nationalism is not only out there, but all around us. Although Billig was the first proponent of banal nationalism the concept has since been discussed by others.
Billig has highlighted the tendancy for those in academia to associate nationalism as being the extreme forms of nationalism such as the ethnic nationalism in Catalonia or British National Party in England (ibid:5). By doing so this gives the impression that nationalsim is ‘on the periphery’ (ibid:5). According to Billig this view is incorrect because nationalism is not just ‘the property of others’ (ibid:5) but it is also the property of ‘us’ (ibid:5), in other words it is inclusive of Western nations.
Billig suggests that Anderson’s imagined communities are a useful way of imagining the national community and exploring national identity, but advises that this is only useful when it is not presumed that the community in question is not dependent on continual ‘acts of imagination for its existence’ (ibid:70). Billig agrees with Anderson in that communities are imagined (ibid:70) but also agrees agrees with Hobsbawn that the national image is created (Hobsbawn:1983) often through fiction as opposed to facts.
Koch and Paasi have argued that nationalism has ‘various institutional and ideological forms’ which are unfixed ‘relational processes’ (Koch, Paasi,2016:1). They further argue that in states that have acquired independence such ideological forms of nationalism are ‘taken-for-granted’ (ibid:2) whilst they saliently make contributions to the flagging and ‘reproduction’ of the nation (ibid:2).
4.2 Imagined Communities
Anderson points out that the UK and Northern Ireland have a ‘rare distinction of refusing nationality in its naming,’(Anderson,2006:2). This serves as an indication of the non-ethnic nature of the nationalism that is in place in the UK. Anderson offers his own definition of the nation as being ‘an imagined political community- and imagined as both inherently limited and sovereign’ (ibid:6).
During the referendum campaign the Scottish nationalists interestingly wanted to remove the elective or political union but maintain the affinitive union (or social union). They effectively wanted political sovereignty which they do not have under the existing Union. The nation is effectively imagined and as Anderson puts it, it is:
‘imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them or even hear them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their
communion,’ (ibid:6).
The nation is to be understood as a mental construct (Wodak et al,1999:153). According to Wodak they ‘are rep- resented in the minds and memories of the nationalised subjects as sovereign and limited political units’ (ibid:153). Of course there is a reason that this image exists in the minds of Scottish people. Firstly it must be remembered that identity is a multifaceted concept. There are many factors that make up our identity which we inherently place labels on in order to make it easier for us to comprehend our own roles in society, family life etc. A national identity is therefore one of many but individuals still have strong affinity with the nation.
Anderson goes on to present us with 3 ways that the nation is imagined; as being limited, as being sovereign and as being a community (Anderson,2006:7).
Anderson explains that any given nation is limited by boarders (albeit man made constructions) and therefore boundaries ‘which beyond lie other nations’ (ibid:7). This places Scotland in a unique position as far as nations are concerned. It is a nation with a land boarder with another nation, yet the other nation holds sovereignty over it. It is this issue that the newspapers are able to articulate in terms of a national identity through articles. If nations are to be physically defined by boarders then this implies sovereignty within these boarders.
The imagining of community also poses a complex issue for nations. It brings in more wide reaching issues such as notions of national identity, and history. As Anderson explains the nation is an idea, ‘which also is conceived as a solid community moving steadily down (or up) history’ (Anderson,2006:26), a view echoed by McCrone (McCrone,1992:28). In other words the national identity is constructed over time. As it is constructed it is also manipulated to create particular histories that favour present circumstances.
Anderson emphasises the significance of ‘print capitalism’ (Anderson,2006:44) on the ‘subjective idea of the nation’(ibid:44). According to Anderson print capitalism has been a factor in helping to build an ‘image of antiquity,’ (ibid:44) with the nation. This is also due to the fact that nations have ‘national print-languages,’ (ibid:46), with Scotland’s being the English language. A common language shared between any two or more nations will likely generates closer ties, and very often cultural similarities which are subconsciously reinforced through language.
5. Research Design
A qualitative single case study has been chosen as a research design. In this section I will also discuss Critical Discourse Analysis as both a theory and a method. It will also be elucidated what I see as discourse in this case study and what my criteria are to gather the data. Furthermore, I will elaborate how I am going to analyse the data according my analytical model based on Fairclough’s three dimension model.
5.1 Ontology and Epistemology
The ontological position I have taken in this research is Social Constructivism. This position ‘challenges the suggestion that organisation and culture are pre-given’ (Bryman,2012:33). The construction of a nation is an ongoing process, which gets shaped and reshaped. Constructivism will help to demonstrate that identity construction is in a ‘constant state of revision’ (Bryman,2012:33). There can also be multiple realities for different individuals/groups. More significantly, the nation is not static and unchanging, this has to be constructed over time. The epistemological position of the research will be interpretivist. Interpretivism attempts to comprehend ‘social action in order to arrive at causal explanation of its course and effect’ (Weber citied Bryman,2012:29). This is the way in which we can achieve what Weber termed verstehen (Bryman,2012:29), which refers to our understanding of the social world (6&Bellamy,2012:109-110).
5.2 Nature of the research
The research will be of an exploratory nature and take concepts that will facilitate in the answering of the central research question. This research does intend to explain or describe how identity has been constructed in the context of a United Kingdom rather to explore how the Scottish are constructing their own identity. The research will be an inductive approach, which involves ‘drawing generalisable inferences out of observation’ (Bryman,2012:26).
5.3 Qualitative Case Study approach: Referendum Campaign for Scottish Independence 2014 A case study will be the framework with which the question will be analysed. Questions that are asking how are ‘more likely to favour the use of case studies’ (Yin,1994:7). A single case study has been chosen as the thesis is not trying to compare the construction of a Scottish identity with that of another nation or minority nation rather it will try to develop ‘a more holistic understanding of the case’ (6&Bellamy,2012:80). This type of case study is suitable for an in depth analysis of a particular social phenomena, as will be the case with this thesis. Additionally a case study is preferable when ‘examining contemporary events,’ (Yin,1994:8) that are unable to be controlled or
manipulated by the researcher. Although the Scottish referendum is not a contemporary event in the present sense, it is still an ongoing issue and discussion in British politics today. A holistic case study is also useful method when it is necessary for the research to incorporate and ‘cover contextual conditions’ (Yin,1994:14) that need to be discussed in order to achieve the aim of the thesis.
5.4 Research Method: Critical Discourse Analysis Critical Discourse Analysis as a Theory
I will firstly discuss the theoretical aspects of CDA. Critical Discourse Analysis has various positions and approaches (Widdowson,2003:89). Discourse is itself a difficult opaque concept due to the myriad of definitions and approaches to it (Fairclough,1992:3). It is used in linguistics, text analysis, conversation analysis and different types of discourse depending on the social setting (ibid:3). According to Fairclough you will begin CDA with a theory of power, or one group’s power over another group (Fairclough, 2001). In this case I will be looking at dominate narratives of the construction of a Scottish national identity.
Critical linguistics is an approach that developed in the 1970’s in the United Kingdom and is often used interchangeably with CDA (Wodak,2001:1). The concept developed by Halliday is know as ‘systemic linguistics,’ or ‘systemic functional grammar approach’ (Fairclough,1992:26). A weakness of critical linguistics is that ‘the relationship between textual features and social meanings tends to be portrayed as straightforward and transparent’ (Fairclough,1992:28). Critical Discourse Analysis has become an increasingly influential approach within discourse analysis in recent years (Widdowson,2003:89). It has been elucidated as being a type of research that focuses on dominance, power and inequality, ‘in the social and political context’ (Van Dijk, 2001: 352). According to Van Dijk there is a relationship between discourse and power (Van Dijk,2008:27) which is expressed through language and different modalities. Power is a form of social control, which is useful for understanding the use of language in the newspapers. If a more Social Constructivist notion of power is adopted here then power is to be understood as influence and language can be the tool to exert this type of power because the ‘social construction of knowledge can itself affect the construction of social reality’ (Guzzini,2005:499).
Critical Discourse Analysis as a Method
It must be understood however that CDA is ‘as much theory as method’ (Fairclough,2001:121) although its methodological usability is rebuffed by Van Dijk who exerts that it is more of an approach which can use any method to answer a research question (Van Dijk,2008:2). A significant contribution of CDA is that it is able to analyse significant issues in current affairs, combining the
scholarly inquiry with the non-scholarly (Widdowson,2003:89). With the use of CDA it is possible to take a ‘different and a critical approach to problems’(Meyer, 2001:15).
This falls into Foucaldian notions of the connection between power and knowledge. In essence the newspaper can act to inform the reader about knowledge of the social world, from a certain point of view. In the case study I will explore, the knowledge is not objective fact, but subjective in nature. Newspapers can influence their readers opinions of the social world which can in turn affect the decision they make when answering the question: ‘Should Scotland be an independent country?’ (Mitchell,2014:276).
Context is of paramount importance in CDA because it is inclusive of the ‘social- psychological, political and ideological components’ (Meyer, 2001:16) that ascribe meaning to any given text. In the referendum campaign for Scottish Independence the context is particularly important because it is effectual to the content of the newspapers. The impending referendum would be a present news story throughout the campaign and therefore the issues that surround it such as the socio-political implications of independence largely dictate the news content.
The position that I will take in this thesis is that developed by Fairclough that, ‘discourses do not just reflect or represent social entities and relations, they construct or 'constitute' them,’ (Fairclough,1992:3). This is particularly important for identifying power relations, and dominant narratives of identity construction. Language is a form of social practice which can be used as a power tool to create change, or promote continuity. Therefore attitudes are expressed through words, making all text subject to interpretation. The composition of sentences can be persuasive, encompassing values and opinions that the reader may absorb. Fairclough argues that ‘social subjects are not merely passively positioned but are capable of acting as agents’ (ibid:61). During the referendum campaign various forms of media outlets including television, radio and newspapers used language to influence the opinions of their respective audiences because the audience or the agency were having the opportunity to change something about the structure of the nation. Newspaper articles are important to study because people access much of their information from them and form opinions based on what they have read.
5.5 Newspapers as Discourse
Newspapers are an example of communication, of ideas not necessarily of hard facts and if factual information is used it is often subject to the interpretation of the author and readership of any given article. Newspapers hold discursive power, which is effectively control over discourse (Halperin,Heath,2017:339).
Newspapers in the UK can be categorised as either ‘quality or popular’(Rodríguez,2006:150) depending on their format as in broadsheet or tabloid, and content. Inherently tabloid or popular
newspapers such as The Sun present news more concisely with a more illustrated character than a broadsheet such as the Financial Times (Rodríguez,2006:150). This is to effectively target a particular social group of readers which could be in terms of class or level of education and so fourth. It is clear that nationalism can manifest itself in a variety of ways, ‘from ethnic to linguistic and from cultural to political’(Walton,2006:113). It is anticipated that there will be different types of Scottish national identities explored throughout the case study. We know that language can shape, ‘our attitudes and identities’ (Walliman,2011:143) which is why newspaper articles will be a good choice in the analysis of identity construction. The role of the Scottish press in being an ‘important transmitter of a sense of Scottish identity’ (Mitchell,2014:280) has declined in recent years, partly due to the rise of social media but it still plays a major role.
5.6 Samples and Criteria
I will analyse a total of 20 online newspaper articles which have been published in the newspapers at the time of publication. I have chosen 10 articles in the period from 14-31 August 2014 which is about a month to 3 weeks before the referendum voting day. I have also chosen to compare these articles with 10 articles selected from 10-18 September 2014 which is just 7 days prior and including the referendum day on 18 September 2014. The Figure.1 provides all the details about the newspaper articles I have used.
Figure.1 Newspaper selection
As Figure.1 shows, I have chosen a mixture of Scottish based newspaper publications and UK national newspapers. I wanted to ensure that I included newspaper publications that were published in Scotland because the referendum campaign directly effected Scotland.
A Scottish based newspaper is one that is published in Scotland only in its printed format, whereas the UK national newspapers are published UK wide. It was a criterion that I would have 2 publications of Scottish based and 2 publications that were UK based. All publications are published in Scotland. I would like to mention that the Scots Independent is a monthly Scottish based newspaper which publishes an online weekly newspaper; The Flag In The Wind.
I have not used an equal number of articles across the board. For example I have taken a total of 2 articles from Scots Independent (The Flag in the Wind) and at the other end of the spectrum I have taken 8 articles from The Guardian. The reason for this is largely due to accessibility issues. I have used articles from The Flag in the Wind, weekly online edition due to the fact that I was not able to access the Scots Independent online. I have chosen the lowest number of articles from this edition because in the archives of this online newspaper there is only one author writing the articles in the specified time frame that I needed. Although The Flag in The Wind had several articles to chose from, the ones that were available for my specified time period were written by one author only. Having read these articles I found that the tone of the articles were very similar and consequently I did not deem it necessary to use anymore than 2 samples from this publication. I have chosen a total of 4 articles from The Herald newspaper, which is not as many as the UK based newspapers but this was again down to an accessibility issue. As a non-subscribed reader of this newspaper’s online articles I was only able to read a limited amount of articles hence the total samples collected as being slightly lower. With a total of 6 articles from The Independent and the most articles (8) drawn from The Guardian these two publications proved to me the most accessible. On each of their respective websites I was able to search articles based on the subject entered in the search box provided and then search through archives which articles were written according to the date published in descending order.
It is important to note that in the UK all publications with one exception; that being the Scots Independent were Pro-Union. This is why I chose to use 2 articles from The Flag in The Wind/ Scots Independent despite both articles being written from the same author because it would provide some variation with the results, as it was the only publication I could access that would present a Pro-Independence standpoint. The newspapers in the UK are not all national because many have regional editions of a certain publication (Billig,1995:111). In the case of The Guardian and The Independent these are published UK wide. The Guardian has no regional edition for Scotland and The Independent is accessible online UK wide. The rational for selecting articles at different times of the campaign is to explore different points of the campaign and to see if there is a difference in the way in which a national identity is constructed closer to the referendum date.
All the samples I have collected are accessible online. I think that given the traditional print news has a ‘relatively restricted print readership’ (Dekavalla,2016:794) online newspaper articles are a good choice and acceptable to use for this topic. Many people access these articles via their mobile phone, social media or computer, not just through the print media.
5.7 Analysing the data
I will adopt the Fairlclough model (see Figure.3 below) of analysis of the data, which I will collect from my sample of newspaper articles (Halperin,Heath,2017:338). I will analyse the samples collected from August first. After identifying the way in which a Scottish national identity is constructed I will compare these to the samples taken from September. In my comparison I will also compare national identity construction between the UK wide newspapers and the Scottish based newspapers.
Figure.3 Fairclough Model (ibid:338)
There are three levels of analysis with this Fairclough model: text, discursive practice and context.
Text Level: I will be analysing the texts of the newspaper samples. I will manually single out particular words, themes, sentences which can be seen as what Billig has described as ‘nation flagging’ (Billig,1995:93). I will look for words, sentences and phrases that point towards a form of identity construction, be it indirectly or directly. Once I have selected these key markers in the texts, I will then move to the next level of analysis.
Discourse Practices: This is related to the constitution of the text and what it portrays in terms of a Scottish national identity. I will explore any interrelation between the discourse selected from the samples to the reality of the case study (Halperin, Heath,2017:339). I will look for the meanings behind the the singled out at the text level of analysis. In particular I will look at ways of description, emphasis on difference or similarities particularly on a socio/cultural level.
Social Practice/Context: In this final part of the analysis I will explore how a Scottish national identity is being constructed through the text. I will focus on what kind of reality the text are trying to construct and how this links with existing socio-structures and the imagined communities and banal nationalism concepts.
5.8 Validity and Reliability
Reliability is concerned with the ability to repeat the results of the study (Bryman,2012:46). Although I have only used one research method (CDA) other researchers would come to the same conclusions I have given the conceptual tools used in the analysis. Furthermore given the amount of articles analysed it is highly likely that others would comes to the same conclusions even if analysing a higher number of articles.
Whereas the internal validity of this thesis might be high it has a relatively weaker external validity. Validity is measured by the ‘integrity of the conclusions’ (Bryman,2012:47) that are concluded from the results of the study. The conclusions of this research may be applicable to Scotland but not necessarily to other regions.
5.9 Role of the Researcher
Throughout this study I have been conscious of the subjective nature of nationalism, and my own role as a researcher. I have aimed to be objective throughout this study, especially given my own background as a British citizen from England. My background and my view of the United Kingdom has inevitably created my own bias which I have aimed at excluding from my own research in this thesis. I have entered this project with an open mind and with a view to explore how a Scottish national identity is constructed through newspaper articles in a specific context.
5.10 Ethical considerations
The most important concern in this thesis is not to violate copy write material and adhere to the rules set by data providers. The newspaper articles and other forms of data I have used are available to the public. The newspaper articles were collected from the online archives of the respective
newspapers or the newspapers websites. All data and material used in this thesis has been cited and referenced in the bibliography accordingly.
6. Analysis and Discussion
In this section I will discuss the dominate themes which emerged from the CDA of the newspapers articles. Throughout the analysis I will compare any similarities or differences between the UK national newspaper articles and the Scottish based articles. I will also include some extracts from the samples where required to elucidate the points made in this analysis. I will discuss the findings from the samples and analyse them using the theories set out in the theoretical chapter simultaneously.
6.1 The construction of a Scottish national identity in August (Articles 1-10) The Flag in the Wind
Article 1 was quite personal using terms such as ‘I’ and the author also uses ‘we’ and ‘us’ which gives the impression of national unity and a sense of community. The Pro-Unionists on the other hand, are described as ‘them’ and ‘they’ which is a way of othersing those that support the Union.. The author is of the opinion that;
‘if we vote Yes they will make life as difficult for us as they can, even if it costs them money (!). If we vote No then we will be kicked from here to Kingdom Come. Fair choice, but needs a bit more thought – by the English.’ (Article 1)
In terms of banal nationalism it is clear to see that an identity is being constructed via the otherising of the English. The author seems to be distinguishing a Scottish identity out of the fact that Scottish are not English. the implication that the English will make things difficult for the Scots contradicts much of what the previous studies have suggested (see. Keating, 2010: 365). This is a clear attempt to portray the English is an unfavorable light, a different group from the Scot’s who would seek to sabotage any moves to a successful independence. The last comment in the extract mentions that the English should give such attempts at sabotage more thought is an indication of the resilience f the Scottish. It can be assumed that this is an indirect reference to Scotland’s power, possibly in the terms of resources and its own ability to make things difficult for the English. It is the authors way of saying that it may not favor the English to take such a firm stance with Scotland in the event of a Yes vote because Scotland is capable of fighting back.
The Herald
Article 2 featured a comparison to Scandinavian nations where the author wrote;
‘What do the likes of Swedes, Danes and Finns have that we don’t? Nothing. Well nothing except the capacity to decide their own futures. And that’s undoubtedly why they are happier and more prosperous than Scots.’ (Article 2)
This extract reveals two interesting things about the construction of a Scottish national identity. Firstly the comparison to Scandinavian nations is not an unusual one as it has often been discussed in Scotland, particularly in the referendum campaign whether Scotland should look towards it northern neighbors as opposed to it southern one (England) (NordicHrizons:2018). The purpose of looking towards Scandinavia is to distance itself from England. Secondly, this extract says that Scotland is denied this ability to control its own destiny from another group. This can be explained in terms of imagined communities because it relates back to sovereignty. According to Anderson a nation is ‘imagined’ as a sovereign entity (Anderson,2006:7). In the case of Scotland it is imagined in terms of what it would be like to be sovereign. The comparison to Scandinavian nations in a direct reference to this absence of sovereignty and the author insinuates that this sovereignty is the key to being better off economically than the Scots are.
In Article 3 promotes the fact that ‘200 business leaders’ (Article 3) had supported the Yes to independence campaign. The article seemed to emphasis that many business leaders were in not only in favor of independence but also thought that Scotland could prosper greatly from its separation from the UK. The chairman of Business for Scotland, Tony Banks was quoted as saying; ‘‘We know Scotland will thrive as an independent country, because key economic decisions will be made by those who truly understand and care most about our Scotland's distinctive economic needs, that's the people who live and work here.’’ ( Article 3).
Once again there is an emphasis on the economic policies of Scotland and the promotion of the idea that independence will provide a means to attain a more fair economic policy that the existing dictated to it by the Westminster government. The author has selected a quote which gives hope for a more fairer economic policy than the existing one within the Union. The 200 business leaders are used here as a way to inject confidence in the Yes campaign by dismaying the readers the vote for the Union on the basis of unclear economic policies in the event of independence. This can be seen
through the prisms of both imagined communities and banal nationalism.
Banal nationalism effectively states that taken for granted nationalism is prevalent in nations that have already acquired independence, but Scotland has not yet done this (Billig,1995). In this extract it seems that Scottish nationalism is not taken for granted, yet it does not quite fit the category of ethnic nationalism. This form of civic nationalism in the context of the UK is perhaps more difficult to place. It is clear from the extract that the community is seen to be Scotland, standing alone without the economic and sovereign ties to the UK. The emphasis on the control that Scotland will have over its own economic policies ties back to Anderson’s imagined communities where it is argued that the nation is ‘imagined as sovereign’ (Anderson, 2006:7). In other words we can see that economic independence is a key benefit to being sovereign for Scotland.
The Guardian
Article 4 is largely based on the opinion on a prominent figure in Scotland, and indeed much of the UK, Professor (Sir) Tom Devine. Devine’s had expressed in an interview with the Observer (a different publication) that he has come to support the Yes campaign over the last few weeks. Sir Tom Devine is quoted as saying;
“It is the Scots who have succeeded most in preserving the British idea of fairness and compassion in terms of state support and intervention. Ironically, it is England, since the 1980s, which has embarked on a separate journey.” (Article 4)
This is a direct reference to the unpopular policies of the Conservative government of the 1980’S under Thatcher. The harsh economic policies of this period were difficult for people from low-income families and arguably made England seem like its Conservatism had shifted away from this British value of fairness, and compassion. This falls into the common rhetoric of the newspapers analysed so far in that they reference economic policies, albeit indirectly in this case. The reference to ‘fairness and compassion’ (Article 4) can be seen as a form of banal nationalism, in that it is almost unnoticeable in this extract. The interviewee effectively says that Scotland has stuck to fair economic policies, unlike the English who have drifted away from the ideals and values of the British. It implies that it is the Scots who are truly British because it is they who maintained these ideas.
The article closes with Devine quoted as saying;
It is clear with this extract that there is a reluctance to separate Scotland and England on a social level, which leaves us with the economic level which in the previous extract we have seen is something that is seen as being different.
Article 5 focuses on the increase in the pro-independence support according to recent polls at the time. The author suggests that such an increase can be attributed to worries about spending cuts in the NHS (National Health Service) in Scotland. In the article the leader of the Yes Scotland campaign Alex Salmond is quoted as saying;
‘A yes vote would "protect our publicly owned, publicly run NHS forever from Westminster privatization and cuts" (Article 5).
The author also presents the Pro-Unionists counter argument via a quote from Scottish Conservative health spokesman, Jackson Carlaw where he says;
‘The suggestion that a no vote was a threat to healthcare was "shameless scaremongering.” (Article 5)
The NHS is a core concern for many in the UK and its creation is considered as one which embodies British values. The first extract from Article 5 demonstrates banal nationalism, with the idea that ‘our’ healthcare would be best protected from ‘Westminster’ by exiting the Union (Article 5). This is a clear attempt to construct an identity which is based on the idea that Scotland is a fairer society which is under threat from economic cuts from Westminster. In this context as in Article 11, Westminster is used in as a negative connotation-the other government rather than the government of the UK. In the second extract from Article 5 shows that from a pro-unionist the opposite view is apparent. Westminster is not seen as a threat to healthcare by Jackson Carlaw, and in terms of imagined communities it is evident that Westminster is not seen as a threat to Scotland. It can be assumed from this extract that Westminster is seen as the government of the UK which Scotland is a part of.
Article 6 is once again focused on the economic issues that may be faced in the event of an independent Scotland. In this particular Guardian article the title is telling;
‘Independent Scotland's economy 'would crash if it tried to use sterling.’ (Article 6)
It is effective in gaining attention to a possibly disastrous scenario for the Scottish economy. The author emphasizes the credentials of the academic who is quoted as saying this by writing;
‘MacDonald, the Adam Smith professor of political economy at the University of Glasgow and a globally recognised expert in oil-based economies, said any move to use sterling would expose
Scotland to huge economic shocks because of its heavy reliance on North Sea oil revenues, but inability to set its own interest rates or control money supply.’ (Article 6)
By emphasizing the academic credentials of the Professor MacDonald the author is indirectly encouraging the reader the trust the opinion of the Professor rather than the possibly empty promises of a politician, namely First Minster for Scotland Alex Salmond. It is clear that this article is constructing a Scottish identity as being tied to the UK because of its inability to stay afloat economically independently from the rest of the UK. In terms of imagined communities these extracts show that even though the underlying message is that Scotland can not make it alone, it is still not disputed that it is a nation in its own right. Anderson argues that it is unlikely that either ‘social change or transformed consciousness, in themselves, do much to explain the attachment that peoples feel for the inventions of their imaginations’ (Anderson,2006:141). In this extract we can see that despite the advise of academics and economists, there is a sense of attachment to the idea of Scotland being an independent nation.
Article 7 is again focused on the economy, and possible problems of independence. The projection looks problematic for Scotland, and similarly to Article 6, we see the author present the politician’s views as separate from that of the experts;
‘The Scottish government argues the OBR forecasts are based on a "very low estimate of future total production", while its own figures have been criticised by opponents who claim they are overly optimistic.’ (Article 7)
In this extract we see an emphasis on the economic projections of an independent Scotland, which amounts to speculation as opposed to any concrete information. The emphasis on economics is implicative of the way in which Scotland is imagined in the minds of its citizens. Identity construction seems to focus on economic stability here.
‘“By saying No Thanks to separation we can have the best of both worlds for Scotland-a strong Scottish parliament, with more powers guaranteed, backed up by the strength security and stability of the United Kingdom, which will protect funding for our public services” (Article 7)
In the second extract it is clear that Scotland is being imagined within the community of the UK, and not alone. It already has its own Parliament, which may be granted more devolution if it chooses to remain as part of the UK. This extract places a Scottish national identity very firmly within the context of the UK.
