Escocia en la encrucijada: de la independencia al Brexit y retorno al inicio = Scotland at a crossroad: from independence to Brexit and return

Ya en 1603, la unificación de los tronos de Escocia e Inglaterra supuso el primer paso para la creación del Reino Unido que a día de hoy conocemos. Desde entonces, el descontento de Escocia, subyugada a una Inglaterra más poderosa, ha ido en incremento debido a factores históricos, religiosos, sociales, económicos e incluso del propio lenguaje. El descubrimiento de petróleo en el Mar del Norte supuso en Escocia un auge todavía más fuerte del independentismo, ya empujado tiempo atrás por la devolución de poderes que Escocia ha exigido a Westminster durante décadas. En 2014 se llevó a cabo el referéndum para la independencia en Escocia, donde la permanencia ganó por una escasa diferencia debido a ciertos factores impulsores de incertidumbre. Como una paradoja, no mucho tiempo después esta decisión de permanecer en el Reino Unido se vio comprometida por un referéndum del Brexit donde la opción de abandonar la Unión Europea ganó en Inglaterra, pero perdió en Escocia. Desde entonces la situación de Escocia ha sido un tira y afloja de deseo independentista contrapuesto a una necesidad de permanecer en el Reino Unido. Se realiza en este trabajo un análisis histórico y económico de independentismo escocés, así como un estudio de las repercusiones del Brexit, tanto actuales como futuras, y se buscan las salidas para una Escocia atrapada en una encrucijada difícil de resolver

Sex, gender and constitutional attitudes: voting behaviour in the Scottish independence referendum

The complex relationship between sex, gender and voting behaviour is a global research preoccupation. This thesis investigates an under-researched dimension of this relationship, focusing on the dynamics of gender, voting behaviour and constitutional change. The Scottish case is empirically interesting as a range of quantitative voting behaviour surveys has been conducted in Scotland since the 1970s with particularly rich empirical data post-devolution. Sex gaps in constitutional attitudes were a well-known feature of voting behaviour in Scotland before the 2014 independence referendum, which allowed citizens to influence constitutional futures directly. Patterns persisting in voting behaviour surveys from the 1990s indicated that women were less supportive of Scottish independence than men and more likely to be undecided about constitutional change. However, voting behaviour scholars have long grappled with understanding the sex gap and have highlighted the complexity and contingency of voting gaps as particular social and political contexts shape them. Significant gaps in knowledge remain regarding which women and men differ in their constitutional attitudes and to what extent and why. This thesis utilises a feminist mixed-method approach to analyse the perspectives and experiences of voters and powerful actors related to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. This thesis draws on insights from feminist voting behaviour research and argues that to understand women’s political preferences through their voting behaviour; scholars must acknowledge the distinction between sex and gender as well as the heterogeneity of gendered voting groups. This thesis employs a problem-driven feminist methodology by centring the problematic of the sex gaps in constitutional attitudes and designing the methods around the puzzle. This thesis adds to the existing research with refreshed quantitative and new qualitative data collected from a top-down and bottom-up approach. This thesis first builds upon existing research on the sex gaps in constitutional attitudes beginning with its top-down approach to the puzzle. Semi-structured elite background interviews were conducted with critical actors central to the independence campaigns to fill a gap in contextual understanding regarding the perspectives of powerful actors involved in the making and revising constitutional futures. This data also provides critical insights into how campaigns targeted gendered voting groups and subgroups to influence their constitutional attitudes. Then, I take a bottom-up approach from the perspective of Scottish voters. I build upon existing quantitative research on the sex gaps and offer a refreshed collated analysis of sex gap patterns in quantitative Scottish voting behaviour data across various relevant surveys. This analysis traces women’s and men’s constitutional attitudes in Scotland over time, highlighting quantitative patterns amongst voter groups. Following this quantitative data analysis, I continued my bottom-up approach by designing and administering a large-scale quantitative data survey which asked survey participants about their voting behaviour history in support of Scottish independence. The survey was created to gain access to research participants for voter focus groups and interviews. The survey provided access to participants for voter focus groups and interviews and offered rich historical data on their voting behaviour histories in support of constitutional change in Scotland. Voters were placed in gendered groups and subgroups based on their vote choice and other background characteristics such as age, national identity, race, and location. Focus groups and interviews provide insight into the complexity and contingency of gender vote gaps and place them into context. This thesis highlights the importance of lived experiences and identities on constitutional attitudes and demonstrates the heterogeneity of gendered voting groups and subgroups. Through its mixed-method multi-perspective approach, this thesis offers a comprehensive investigation into gendered constitutional attitudes in Scotland by examining both the electorate’s perspective and the perspectives of those in political decision-making positions. This research suggests that when voter heterogeneity is acknowledged, we can better answer the question of which women and men differ in their constitutional attitudes and tease out how political belief systems are constructed and influence voter behaviour. In deepening the understanding of the full complexity of the relationship between sex, gender and voting in the context of constitutional change, the thesis makes wider contributions to both mainstream and feminist political science, offering innovative approaches and evidence to answering big questions around the dynamics of participation, identities, and change

Security in a Small Nation

"The 2014 Referendum on Scottish independence sparked debate on every dimension of modern statehood. Levels of public interest and engagement were unprecedented, as demonstrated by record-breaking voter turnout. Yet aside from Trident, the issue of security was relatively neglected in the campaigns, and there remains a lack of literature on the topic. In this volume Andrew Neal has collated a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives on security and constitutional change in Scotland and the UK, including writing from experts in foreign policy analysis, intelligence studies, parliamentary studies, and journalism. Security in a Small Nation provides an illuminating analysis of the politics of security. Its authors reflect on a number of related issues including international comparisons, alliances, regional cooperation, terrorism, intelligence sharing, democratic oversight, and media coverage. It has a particular focus on what security means for small states and democratic politics. The book draws on current debates about the extent of intelligence powers and their implications for accountability, privacy, and human rights. It examines the foreign and security policy of other small states through the prism of Scottish independence, providing unique insight into the bureaucratic and political processes associated with multi-level security governance. These contributions provide a detailed picture of the changing landscape of security, including the role of diverse and decentralised agencies, and new security interdependencies within and between states. The analysis presented in this book will inform ongoing constitutional debates in the UK and the study of other secessionist movements around the world. Security in a Small Nation is essential reading for any follower of UK and Scottish politics, and those with an interest in security and nationhood on a global scale.

Secession and Referendum

The book focuses on current developments on territorial changes in International law. The study inquiries about whether according to international law, the referendum is a sufficient or a necessary condition for secession, or both. Through main “cases study”, the book finds that there is no sufficient practice and opinio juris to support the existence of an international rule according to which the referendum is a sufficient element to legitimize the birth of a new entity. Nevertheless, there are at least some elements supporting the view that the referendum is becoming a necessary tool in the process for secession, provided that it complies with certain procedural standards

Narratives of belonging and exclusion :the negotiation of heritage and place in young people's conceptualisations of national identity in Scotland

PhD Thesis : This is an edited version of the printed thesis in which copyrighted images have been removed. The thesis can be viewed in full, on request at the University Library.This thesis analyses whether attempts to reimagine the nation in plural terms can be successful in altering individuals’ conceptualisations of national identity and belonging. Drawing on theories of identity maintenance and ontological security (Giddens 1991), identity as performance (Butler, 1990; Goffman, 1959) and Mason’s (2013) concept of ‘cosmopolitan museology’, it questions the degree to which individuals are willing or able to accept plural representations of national identity increasingly seen in European museums such as the National Museum of Scotland. Such interpretative approaches attempt to deconstruct homogenous discourses of nationhood while encouraging individuals to develop a reflexive sense of self. This thesis argues that further research is needed into the way in which heritage is produced and negotiated in everyday social environments beyond the museum in order to understand what—if any— impact museums may have in producing ‘inclusive’ definitions of national identity. These issues are examined in Scotland, a devolved nation in the UK. The thesis critically analyses how young people aged between 13-17 years old from 5 schools in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Barra and the Scottish Borders utilised and negotiated concepts of ‘heritage’, ‘place’, ‘national identity’ and ‘diversity’ in narratives of belonging and exclusion. 73 young people participated in the research, which was conducted using focus groups and semi-structured interviews. The analysis also draws upon insights gained from teachers and heritage professionals. The research found that the majority of participants adopted positions that reinforced their existing sense of self, rather than alter their definitions of nationhood. While many participants were comfortable with the language of ‘diversity’, they frequently struggled to express themselves when applying these principles to everyday life. The findings indicate that museums could make a positive contribution to public debates by enabling individuals to articulate ideas of diversity while avoiding the essentialisation of difference.AHRC: The Postgraduate Research Student Submission Support Fund

The practice of Political Public Relations in Catalonia and Scotland

This thesis is about the practitioners of political public relations in Scotland and Catalonia. The study is focused on investigating the constitutive elements of political PR practitioners as a professional group and as a practice, and the influence that different media systems have on the practice of political PR. This is a comparative study that combines micro and macro-level analysis. The thesis is one of the first studies to approach political PR as a profession and to compare sub-state nations to explore communication practices in the political sphere. The theoretical framework for this thesis combines a neo-institutional approach to professions, and the theory of media systems models to explore and compare the context where political PR practitioners work. The empirical data of this thesis derives from in-depth interviews to Heads of Communication in parties and governments in Scotland and Catalonia. The analysis of the empirical data is based on thematic coding. The central argument of this thesis is that the practice of political PR and its practitioners occupy a professional role in the division of labour in the political sphere of Scotland and Catalonia. The professional role of political PR practitioners is that of a hybrid model that combines classic traits of professions with informal structures and shared professional identities resulting from the constant influence of the political and the media sphere. As a practice political PR is about relationship management and networking with the core actors and channels of the media sphere. Media systems provide the profession with different tools of influence over the media sphere influencing levels of professional power and professional performance. Catalan practitioners have a wider range of institutional tools because of the strongly interdependent relationship between the media and political spheres. Whereas Scottish practitioners use their professional power and performance to overcome the limitations to political influence in their media system.sub_mcpasubmitted2620_ethesessubmitte

The Politics of Scottish Government Policy on Unconventional Oil and Gas

The UK government is responsible for UK energy policy and has signalled a firm commitment to hydraulic fracturing for shale gas as part of its energy strategy. Yet, the Scottish Government imposed an indefinite moratorium on fracking in 2017. To explain this puzzling outcome, this thesis uses the Advocacy Coalition Framework to examine the Scottish unconventional oil and gas debates and demonstrate that Scotland possesses an analytically separate fracking subsystem, with its own actors and coalitions, ‘nested’ in a UK subsystem. The study identifies key actors, their stated beliefs, and drivers of policy change. In this thesis, I combine qualitative content analysis with the case study approach to capture the dynamic unconventional oil and gas policy process in Scotland and explain this major shift. I provide an in-depth examination of the Scottish hydraulic fracturing debates between 2011 and 2019. The timespan of eight years was enough for advocacy coalitions to emerge with relatively well-formed belief systems, and for policy learning to occur. The findings showed that the Scottish hydraulic fracturing subsystem was conditioned by multiple external events and instances of policy-learning that not only influenced the Scottish Government’s final decision, but also its ability to make that decision. This study makes an original contribution to knowledge in the field of public policy by providing a longitudinal analysis of hydraulic fracturing policy development in Scotland. It also contributes to further development of the Advocacy Coalition Framework as a public policy theory by applying it in a multi-level governance context and expanding the concept of ‘nestedness’