A New Song or the Same Old Tune? Press Constructions of Scotland's Emerging Political Identity in Britain and Europe

Abstract

This case study, focusing on the Scottish press, analyzes emerging media constructions of Scottish identity as articulated through the prism of the new Scottish parliament, with the focus on that institution's preliminary relationships with the United Kingdom and the European Union. The study covers a six-month period leading up to the historic opening of the new parliament in July of 1999. It provides a clearer picture of how Scotland's political relations with the UK and the EU were being framed and presented at that time, as the Scottish nation and its new polity began the process of redefining themselves within these larger entities. Four dominant media packages are identified, each of which articulates a different vision for Scotland's future in relation to the UK and the EU. Three of the four packages emphasize versions of the Scottish-UK relationship that place Scotland in a subservient or regressive position vis-à-vis the UK. However, one of the identified packages represents a genuinely original framework for Scotland's external relations, and provides a progressive model for medium-and long-term media coverage of these relations. However, in order for this package to predominate, a number of institutional and cultural factors reinforcing the status quo must be overcome.