DYNAMICS OF THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY’s AGENDA IN THE 2010s

Abstract

The article focuses on measurement and analysis of the dynamics of the political agenda of the Scottish National Party during the 2010s. The relevance of the study is justified by the current political processes in the United Kingdom, which allows to consider the issue of Brexit and a second referendum as factors in the dynamics of the party agenda. Based on the content analysis of party manifestos, the dynamics of agenda of the Scottish National Party is emphasized. It flexibly and adaptively includes both regionalist and national topics and issues in SNP’s rhetoric and argumentation. Scottish nationalists are increasingly borrowing the agenda of national parties (Conservatives and Labours). At the same time, the SNP consciously positions itself both as a party that remains loyal to regionalist content and as a national party that can compete with large party actors. Being a regionalist social democratic party, the SNP uses two different models of the formation of the party agenda, depending on the political situation. The topics of Brexit, European Union membership and a second referendum on Scottish independence are actively used by the SNP as arguments for expanding their own political subjectivity and regional autonomy, as well as tools for fighting in the domestic political parliamentary and electoral arenas.