NÄRMARE ELLER LÄNGRE IFRÅN EUROPA

Abstract

In 2020, the United Kingdom left the European Union. This sparked a huge debate in Scotland, where the majority voted to remain. The aim of this thesis is to analyse how two Scottish political parties, The SNP and The Scottish Conservatives, use national identity before and after Brexit. This will be done by investigating what type of Scottish, British and European identity markers each party use before and after Brexit. The thesis is based on the theoretical framework of discourse theory, a common framework for studying identity constructions over time. Previous research suggest that national identities are not permanent, nor something that can only be defined by heritage and birthplace. Rather, national identities are dynamic and can be affected by societal changes. However, little research has been done analysing if changes have occurred due to a supranational change like Brexit, and a comparative study over time between The SNP and The Scottish Conservatives has not yet been conducted. To answer the research questions, a comparative qualitative content analysis, analysing material consisting of party manifestos and political speeches between 2015 and 2021 have been used. The study finds that national identity in Scotland is more civic than ethnic and changes over time have occurred, where the SNP uses more European identity markers after Brexit, while the Scottish Conservatives do not.