Recasting the state: The Scottish National Party and the Nieuw‐Vlaamse Alliantie

Abstract

In 2014, voters in Scotland and Flanders were faced with a choice which would shape the constitutional future of their respective nations as well as that of the British and Belgian states. The Scottish National Party and the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie sought different types of self-government, but their proposals were made in response to the embedding state. This article analyses the messaging of each party, determining that both discursively use the state – as concept and as institution – in similar ways. Both acknowledge the interdependence inherent to governance in the twenty-first century, but argue that self-government remains necessary. They also use the perceived failings of the state to make their case for self-government. However, there are important, albeit subtle, areas of variation, reflecting both the nature of each party’s self-government goals and their strategies in pursuit of them.