Center for European Studies

Secessionist Party Rhetoric and the EU in a Post-Brexit United Kingdom

Sarah Snowmann, Ph.D. Candidate, Political Science

Turlington 331In the wake of Brexit, how has the framing of the EU and independence evolved amongst secessionist parties in the devolved regions of the UK? In this paper, I analyze nineteen secessionist party manifestos between 2011 and 2022, integrating the theoretical literatures on rhetorical path dependence and framing to examine the impacts of Brexit on the framing of the EU. At a rhetorical level, these parties have engaged in frame bridging, rhetorically tying their independence or enhanced autonomy to Brexit. Sinn Féin, Scottish Nationalist Party, and Plaid Cymru have used the critical juncture of Brexit to shift their rhetoric from inconsistency towards the EU to emphasize their goals of independence or increased autonomy. Lunch provided