Description
Scotland's external affairs are rarely studied. When they are, it is often through para-diplomacy. Para-diplomacy, however, is simply a descriptor, lacking in conceptual clarity and theoretical development. At the heart of Scotland's para-diplomacy is a guiding role: to be a Good Global Citizen (GGC). The GGC has been described by Dellepiane & Reinsberg (Dellepiane & Reinsberg, 2023) as para-diplomatic nation branding. It would imply that any party opposed to this national branding by the SNP, unionist parties and allies of the UK, would be opposed. However, there are select instances in which unionist parties and international actors share the SNP view of Scotland as a GGC. As I shall show, far from being simply nation branding, the GGC fits the common understanding of a foreign policy role. It derives from an SNP ‘Scottish’ self, infers the appropriate behaviours of the Scottish Government and engenders reactions from others (opposition parties and international actors) that impart expectations of what Scotland should be/do. By using role theory, this contested reproduction of self and behaviour can explain why, in certain spaces, opposition parties are willing to work with the SNP's nation branding. It further highlights that the SNP are often divided over their own sense of Scottish self. By theorising a bottom-up development of Scotland's para-diplomacy I aim to develop para-diplomacy into a distinct bottom-up approach and explain the peculiarities of Scotland’s para-diplomacy.
