Membership from independence. A study of the Scottish National Party’s strive for an EU-member state status.

Abstract: The Scottish National Party want an independent Scotland, but there is somewhat of a “puzzle” to their stance. Because they want this self-ruling nation shall be a member of the European Union. This thesis explore the features of the party’s standpoint and how it could be conceived as reasonable. Scotland is only one of several regions in Europe with a separatist movement/party that desire autonomy in combination with an EU-membership. With the party’s manifestos and transcripts from the Scottish Parliament their arguments are sorted after two ideal points. The ideal points are constructed primarily on Bickerton’s nation state and member state theory, with three main characters; identity, economy and sovereignty. In the SNP’s stance rights are separated from the notion of nationhood and the individual plays a large part in defining the people in relation to the territory. This leads to the conclusion that the SNP is closer to the member state ideal point. With a position that builds on the notion that identity is partly separated from the territory (you only need to live there), in combination with that the territory’s autonomy is highly reflected, this leads to the principal idea is concluded to be considered as reasonable.