1.2 Sub-State Nationalist Parties and Self-Government Goals
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The Art of the Possible: Framing Self- Government in Scotland and Flanders Coree Brown Swan PhD in Politics - The University of Edinburgh - 2017 Declaration I, Coree Brown Swan, herewith declare that this thesis was written by me, that the work is my own work, and that the work has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. 30 June 2017 Edinburgh, Scotland, UK Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. 1 Lay Summary ........................................................................................................... 2 Abstract .................................................................................................................... 2 Introduction............................................................................................................. 1 The rise and rise of sub-state nationalism ............................................................................ 2 The puzzle of self-government goals .................................................................................... 3 Research questions .................................................................................................................. 4 Self-government in Scotland and Flanders .......................................................................... 5 Thesis structure ........................................................................................................................ 6 Chapter One: Conceptualizing sub-state nationalist parties .................................. 9 1.1 Defining sub-state nationalist parties ........................................................................ 9 1.2 Sub-state nationalist parties and self-government goals ....................................... 13 1.3 Sub-state nationalist parties: assessing strategy and rationality............................ 23 1.4. The art of the possible: Self-government in light of empirical contexts ........... 33 Chapter Two: Research Design and methodology ............................................... 49 2.1 Sub-state nationalist parties and empirical contexts.............................................. 50 2.2 Research design and case selection ......................................................................... 53 2.3 Data collection ............................................................................................................ 58 2.4 Data analysis: framing analysis ................................................................................. 61 2.5 Presentation of analysis ............................................................................................. 65 Chapter Three: Continuity or Change? Evaluating self-government goals over time ........................................................................................................................ 67 3.1 The Scottish National Party ...................................................................................... 68 3.2 The Volksunie ............................................................................................................. 84 3.3 The Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie................................................................................... 98 3.4 Continuity and change in self-government goals ................................................ 109 Chapter Four: Self-government in Europe and the world ................................... 112 4.1 The Scottish National Party: Continuity and change in the pursuit of self- government ............................................................................................................... 113 4.2 The Volksunie: Evolving towards Europe ........................................................... 127 4.3 The Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie: Seeking an independent Flanders in a European context ....................................................................................................................... 135 4.4 Comparing the framing self-government, Europe, and the world ................... 141 Chapter Five: Framing self-government and the state ....................................... 146 5.1 The Scottish National Party and the United Kingdom ...................................... 147 5.2 The Volksunie and the Belgian state ..................................................................... 164 5.3 The Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie and the Belgian state ........................................... 173 5.4 Comparing the framing of the state and self-government ................................. 183 Chapter Six: Framing self-government and the party system ............................ 187 6.1 The Scottish National Party in a shifting party system ....................................... 188 6.2 The Volksunie: Self-government in a fragmented party system ....................... 201 6.3 The Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie in a regionalised Flemish party space ............... 211 6.4 Self-government and the party system: understandings of the self, the other, and the system .................................................................................................................. 220 Chapter Seven: Self-government in 2014 ............................................................. 224 7.1 The Scottish National Party and a 2014 vision of independence ..................... 225 7.2 The Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie and confederalism ............................................... 240 7.3 Comparing independence and confederalism in 2014 ........................................ 259 Chapter Eight: Discussion .................................................................................. 264 Appendix One: Codebook ................................................................................... 282 Appendix Two: List of interviewees.................................................................... 291 Bibliography ........................................................................................................ 292 The Art of the Possible Acknowledgements This project has been both the most challenging and rewarding process I’ve undertaken, and would not have been possible without the support I’ve received, both professional, and personal, along the way. Firstly, my mom and dad, who have always been supportive of my endeavours, even when they take me far, far from home. I’ve always said I won the supervisor lottery with Professor Nicola McEwen and Dr Wilfried Swenden and I thank them both for their feedback, patience, and enthusiasm for my project. Nicola’s mentorship and support has been invaluable as I navigate the strange world of academia. It has been an amazing, but challenging time, to do a PhD in Scottish politics and I have been so fortunate in the opportunities available to me through the Future of the UK and Scotland project and the Centre on Constitutional Change. This work provided inspiration, a certain degree of distraction from the overwhelming task at hand, and the opportunity to work with incredible scholars at the forefront of their fields. Colleagues in the Territorial Politics Research Group and within the School of Social and Political Science have also provided inspiration and insight into my work, and it is better for it. My PhD buddies for their support, commiseration, and encouragement. Special mention must be made to Charlotte Snelling, for feedback, pep talks, and fieldtrips, Alice Hague, my PhD mentee, and SPS Writes co-founder, who has likely taught me more than I’ve ever taught her, Sandra Engstrom, my first friend within the department, and Ellen Spaeth, for writing sessions and her ever so subtle matchmaking. Which brings me to my husband, Alex, who deserves a special thanks – for his constant cheer, his unfailing patience with my PhD weekends, and tea-making abilities. I can’t wait to see where our next adventure takes us. The Art of the Possible Abstract Sub-state nationalist parties mobilised and saw an increase in electoral support in the 1960s and 1970s. A heterogeneous group of parties, they are united by their claims upon the state in favour of self-government. However, sub-state nationalist parties advance a variety of goals, ranging from more moderate forms of recognition and cultural or political autonomy, to more radical restructuring of the state along federal lines, to even more radical demands for political independence. The language, content, and arguments in favour of these goals varies – both between parties and within individual parties’ over time. As a result, we know less than we should about self-government goals themselves. This research asks two core questions. Firstly, what do