Abstract
This paper examines international reactions to Scotland’s 2014 bid for independence as an instance of socialisation of an aspirant state, what we term pre-socialisation. Building on and contributing to research on state socialization and role theory, this study proposes a nexus between roles and sovereignty. This nexus has three components – sovereignty itself is a role casted for by an actor, the sovereign role is entangled with substantive foreign policy roles the actor might play, and the sovereign role implicates the substantive foreign policy roles of other actors. The Scottish debate on independence provides an effective laboratory to develop and explore these theoretical dimensions of pre-socialization, the contested value and meaning of sovereignty, the possible roles an independent Scotland could play, and the projected implications for the role of the UK and other international actors. Our analysis of the Scottish case can provide insights for other cases of pre‐socialisation and is more empirically significant following the UK’s 2016 referendum to leave the European Union.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 8-32 |
Number of pages | 25 |
Journal | European Journal of International Relations |
Volume | 24 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 9 Jan 2017 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Mar 2018 |
Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)
- socialisation
- role theory
- sovereignty
- Scottish independence
- United Kingdom