What country does Scotland want to be? Post-Brexit visions of independence in SNP discourse

This paper asks the question of what visions of Scottish independence are constructed in the political discourse of the Scottish National Party (SNP). Brexit has presented the SNP with an opportunity to portray Scottish independence as a means for Scottish citizens to assert their distinctiveness vis-à-vis England and English identity, both of which often ascribed to the Tory party and conservative politics. Moreover, the SNP also stresses that independence is a means for Scotland to embrace a more cosmopolitan, sustainable, feminist and pro-EU version of Scottish society. This paper seeks to contribute to the analysis of the political dynamics surrounding Scottish independence in the post-Brexit setting by tracing the evolution of key themes and tropes in SNP political discourse related to foreign policy, economic policy and European integration. The discourse analysis draws on SNP manifestos and official statements combined with interview data from SNP officials.