How propaganda in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum helped to shape the cause for an independent Scotland
How propaganda in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum helped to shape the cause for an independent Scotland

Summary/Abstract: The article follows the key propaganda battle between the pro- and anti-Scottish independence camps in the three-year period before the Scottish independence referendum was held on 18 September 2014. By focusing on the narrative of the major pro-independence proponents, first of all Alex Salmond, at the time the First Minister of Scotland, the article points towards a changed shift in defining the reasons for independence – from a more traditional nationalistic rhetoric, towards insisting on a false dichotomy between Scotland and Westminster. At the same time, the article explains the major pitfall of the anti-independence propaganda, namely its negativity and insisting on fearmongering and warnings of possible economic hardships in case Scotland became independent. Eventually, it was the intervention of Gordon Brown, former British Labour Prime Minister from Scotland (2007-10), just days before the referendum, which crucially gave the anti-independence camp a fresh lease of energy, by reminding the Scots that there was nothing wrong in voting for the Union, as patriotism is not an exclusive domain of nationalists.

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