Skip to main content
Rebordering Britain & Britons after Brexit

Scotland and Brexit: Identity, Belonging and Citizenship in uncertain times

Abstract

This article offers some reflections on the lessons readers might take from the papers in this special issue. These are framed through consideration of three key themes: Scottishness, nationhood and national identity; the search for belonging, not least in relation to migrants' emotional responses to Brexit; and the practical questions that Brexit poses for citizenship(s) and `settled' status. In considering these themes, attention is drawn towards three areas which are ripe for further study. Several of the articles bring into focus the notion of Scottish exceptionalism, provoking questions about what impacts this exceptionalism, or perhaps more importantly perceptions of it, may have at policy and attitudinal levels. Questions too, are posed about the heterogeneity of perception, experience and response to Brexit amongst ECE migrants in Scotland. Finally, it can be seen that Brexit has been a protracted process and a source of anxiety and anguish, not least for those who have made Scotland their home. Looking forward, there will be more Brexit related tension to come, a prospect hugely complicated by the impacts of Covid-19.

You might also be interested in :

Applying for Settled Status: Ambivalent and reluctant compliance of EU citizens in post-Brexit Scotland
This article contributes to scholarship concerning the effects of the UK Referendum on EU membership and Brexit on EU citizen rights in the UK (Botterill, McCollum and Tyrrell, 2018; Burrell and Schweyher, 2019; Gawlewicz and Sotkasiira, 2019; Huber, 2019). The paper focuses on applications for…
Stay or go? Roma, Brexit and European freedom of movement
The spectre of Brexit has raised issues of concern for Roma communities living and working in Scotland and other parts of the UK. The effective ending of freedom of movement has produced new uncertainties and insecurities for people living outside their EU countries of origin…

Journal

Scottish Affairs

Author

David McCollum (United Kingdom)

Article meta

Country / region covered

Year of Publication

Source type

Keywords