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. Analysis and Discussion 21 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: 1 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. 2 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.