This thesis examines the political communications strategies of the Scottish National Party and the Bloc Quebecois during the 1997 national elections in the UK and Canada and how these two political parties have promoted their nationalist message, as well as their relationship with the journalists who deliver it. It challenges the consensus that the quality of a party's political communication is the main determinant of its electoral success, and looks at the role of other factors, such as historical, political, cultural and social conditions, and how such factors influence the role of journalists in promulgating nationalism. This is done through an examination of nationalism and cultural identity as well as political journalism in Britain, Scotland, Canada and Quebec; an analysis of the histories of the Scottish National Party and the Bloc Quebecois; data from interviews with journalists and party strategists; an analysis of the political communications strategies of the two parties before 1997; and case studies of the SNP and the Bloc during the 1997 elections in Canada and the UK, which include data from media coverage and party political documents. The author concludes that it is these other factors that have had more of an influence on the electoral outcomes of the Scottish National Party and the Bloc Quebecois rather than their political communication, and which have also determined the sometimes adversarial nature of the relationship that political journalists in Scotland and Quebec have had with these nationalist parties.

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The growth of sub-state nationalism in the 1960's provoked considerable academic speculation. The case of Scotland was a prominent focus of interest. One neglected area however, was the systematic study of S.N.P. strategy on two issues--North Sea oil and devolution--it is argued that small producers face particular problems in establishing themselves in the marketplace. From the standpoint of 'rational choice' theory, the party was unable to maintain a rational orientation to the electorate even under the most favourable circumstances. The constraints on rational behaviour ultimately isolated the party from the mass of the electorate, and it experienced what amounted to a 'reverse process' of maturation from relative rationality to relative irrationality. This growth cycle suggests that there are particularly severe problems afflicting the leaderships of such parties which need further study.

The thesis deals with the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru - the Party of Wales and their transformation in the context of the establishment of devolutionary institutions: the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly of Wales. At first, it presents the main terms with which the work will operate, and the concept of regional parties, focusing on their classification based on the origin and stance on the territorial-political arrangement. Further, the thesis will deal with the development of tendencies leading to the establishment of devolution in both regions. The background conditions and the main purpose leading to the establishment of both parties differed significantly and played an important role throughout their whole existence. The Scottish National Party has demanded Scotland's independence since its establishment, while Plaid Cymru was formed mainly to protect Welsh culture and language. The emergence of devolution in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has provided regional parties with a new opportunity to strengthen their position in their regional political systems. Both the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru had to adapt to the new conditions and create a new strategy for the new political environment. The work should answer the question of how...

Alex Salmond, a talented politician in charge of Scotland's devolved government since 2007, is mounting the biggest challenge to the British union state in its 300-year history. His fast-growing Scottish National Party wants Scotland to cease being the invisible country of Europe and to embrace independence. This book argues that if the Union is demolished, change will remain elusive and Scotland will continue to be run by the close-knit administrative, commercial and religious elites who have dominated the country for centuries. Tom Gallagher contends that the SNP remains fixated by resentment towards England and has no strategy for reviving a struggling economy and the deep-seated social problems which disfigure urban Scotland. He argues that the SNP are not committed to independence, that the SNP is a super-unionist party, that it recoils from popular sovereignty and is an enthusiastic backer of the EU s plans for a post-national Europe based on federalist rule from Brussels, and that it endorses a radical multi-culturalism that devalues individual citizenship and places Scotland at the mercy of globalization. Gallagher's hard-hitting analysis will stir emotions and generate debate, especially his claim that if the SNP triumphs it will reinforce the authoritarian trends which have disfigured Scottish history and contributed to heavy emigration. He passionately believes that moral and practical energies need to be released if Scotland is to renew itself, but fears that as long as the country is seen in romantic and propagandistic terms, this overdue transformation will be stillborn.

The concept of ideology's theory-building potential has been under-exploited in studies of contemporary nationalism. This study offers a novel approach to 'neo-nationalism' by defining it as an ideology, embedding it in a theory of discourse, and extending this framework to a methodology based on text analysis. Qualitative deconstruction of texts using the tools of literary theory is one of the research methods used, complemented by evidence from elite interviews and a survey of primary sources. In order to illustrate how neo-nationalism is discursively constructed, the core of the ideology is distinguished from its periphery. Furthermore, parties are characterised as ideologues in contemporary society and placed within the postmodern framework of discourse theory. Case studies of the Scottish National Party and the Christlich-Soziale Union in Bavaria examine their interpretations of nationalist ideology through analysis of the rhetoric used in recent election campaigns. The parties are of particular interest because they attempt to reconcile core nationalist goals with contemporary political issues, such as that of integration within the European Union. The SNP is an example of a neo-nationalist party in that it pursues its core, immutable goal of prioritising the nation by promoting Scottish autonomy within a larger European framework. The CSU, on the other hand, is neo-nationalist in that its policies and rhetorical appeals revolve around a national nodal point articulated in terms of the Heimat. It has sought to defend Bavarian autonomy by profiling itself as the archetypal Bavarian party with an important role to play in both the German and European political arenas. The case studies demonstrate that a nationalist party's support for European integration may reinforce rather than undermine its core commitment to self-determination. Moreover, the ideological constructs developed by neo-nationalist parties can usefully be characterised in terms of discourse theory. Both the CSU and the SNP seek to 'de-contest' their interpretations of the nation and achieve conceptual hegemony by establishing their ideology as 'common sense'. Post-modem theory thus not only provides the epistemological grounding of the study, but also paves the way for a methodological approach designed to analyse neo-nationalism in its specificity.

Secessionist movements have been found historically on both sides of the political spectrum, and sometimes have tried to remain apolitical completely, but because of the rise of partisan politics, secessionism has inevitably become politicized. Variations in Western European secessionism can be noticed, and as such, explanations put forward may be deemed insufficient, or incomplete. In my thesis I tested the hypothesis that secessionism varied on the political spectrum because it has been consolidated against ideological Others (in Scotland against Thatcher’s Conservatives between 1974 and 1990). I tested this methodologically through process tracing and theoretically by looking at the consolidation of the Scottish National Party through reactive nationalism. Specifically I analyzed the nationalist discourse used to justify ideological positioning in the 1970s and 1980s in propaganda materials and archival documents, and if and how this ideological choice was reflected or interpreted in newspapers (for opinions on how this consolidation was perceived by the electorate).

Secessionist movements have been found historically on both sides of the political spectrum, and sometimes have tried to remain apolitical completely, but because of the rise of partisan politics, secessionism has inevitably become politicized. Variations in Western European secessionism can be noticed, and as such, explanations put forward may be deemed insufficient, or incomplete. In my thesis I tested the hypothesis that secessionism varied on the political spectrum because it has been consolidated against ideological Others (in Scotland against Thatcher’s Conservatives between 1974 and 1990). I tested this methodologically through process tracing and theoretically by looking at the consolidation of the Scottish National Party through reactive nationalism. Specifically I analyzed the nationalist discourse used to justify ideological positioning in the 1970s and 1980s in propaganda materials and archival documents, and if and how this ideological choice was reflected or interpreted in newspapers (for opinions on how this consolidation was perceived by the electorate).

This thesis deals with the challenge posed to post-imperial British identity by the rise of Scottish political nationalism and its voice the Scottish National Party (SNP) from the late 1960s to 1980. With the ultimate decline of the British Empire in the decades following the Second World War, Britishness, which had been forged through the imperial experience, was fundamentally challenged by older national identities within the United Kingdom. Scottish nationalism was one of these identities which had been subsumed by an imperial British identity for over two hundred years. A combination of the collapse of the industry of empire in Scotland, relative economic deprivation in the 1960s and 1970s, and other Scottish political grievances prompted increased support for the SNP. Scots, viewing themselves as a nation and as distinct in many ways from the rest of the United Kingdom, reacted to the decline of the British unitary state and encouraged the growth of Scottish political nationalism. The political success of the SNP in the late 1960s and 1970s forced the main Westminster parties to address the issue of Scottish nationalism and Scots' sense of alienation from the centre of power. The Royal Commission on the Constitution and the resulting debate over devolution in the late 1970s, prompted by the growth of nationalism, represented the greatest challenge to the legitimacy of the United Kingdom since the Treaty of Union of 1707.

Secessionist movements have been found historically on both sides of the political spectrum, and sometimes have tried to remain apolitical completely, but because of the rise of partisan politics, secessionism has inevitably become politicized. Variations in Western European secessionism can be noticed, and as such, explanations put forward may be deemed insufficient, or incomplete. In my thesis I tested the hypothesis that secessionism varied on the political spectrum because it has been consolidated against ideological Others (in Scotland against Thatcher’s Conservatives between 1974 and 1990). I tested this methodologically through process tracing and theoretically by looking at the consolidation of the Scottish National Party through reactive nationalism. Specifically I analyzed the nationalist discourse used to justify ideological positioning in the 1970s and 1980s in propaganda materials and archival documents, and if and how this ideological choice was reflected or interpreted in newspapers (for opinions on how this consolidation was perceived by the electorate).