How do states present themselves as inclusive towards migrants and their citizens? This article traces the discourse-to-audience framework through an analysis of the Scottish government's rhetoric on Scottish distinctiveness and its effect on how young migrants see Scotland. In order, we examine how the discourse of Scottish distinctiveness is constructed and conveyed through a close examination of Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's public speeches. Through the examples given we see how an image of Scotland as open, inclusive and outward-looking is invoked. We then examine how the discourse fosters its audiences through narrative interviews conducted with young adult migrants living in Scotland. We operationalise Foucault's theory of governmentality to this extent and argue that the macro narrative of distinctiveness directs the 'conduct of conduct' of young migrants in Scottish society.

This contribution investigates the intersection between macro-level political narratives on diversity and micro-level lived experience of social inclusion and everyday interaction. The case studies for analysis comprise of two regional sub-state nationalist contexts, Scotland and South Tyrol, Italy. Scotland is a nation state that defines itself vis-a-vis the rest of the UK and where a discourse has emerged that Scottish nationalism is both civic and inclusive. South Tyrol is an autonomous province in northern Italy which remains a liminal space between Austria and Italy and is presented as a model to protect minorities. We argue for developing a critical stance on diversity narratives identified in these two-regions. Based on in-depth narrative interviews with young adult migrants, we use an ontological security framework to examine the relationship between macro-narratives and micro-level lived experiences of everyday social interactions. Firstly, we address how macro-level national identity discourses manifest themselves in micro-level everyday interactions. Secondly, we look at how young adults interpret these narratives when retelling their everyday experiences, sometimes to the point of excluding their own experiences of discrimination. In this way, we trace the negotiation of belongingness in these two contexts.

This study investigates the lived experiences of racial microaggressions faced by young adult migrants in everyday life in Glasgow, UK. The personal stories reported in this study are a direct challenge to the dominant political narrative that Scotland does not have a racism problem. When faced with this discord between narrative and reality, young adultmigrants in Scotland must negotiate both their own lived experiences and biographical narratives to achieve a sense of security. A narrative enquiry methodology is used to explore mundane and everyday interactions for four young adult migrants who have settled in Glasgow over the last 10 years. These accounts of daily life offer a unique view into the everyday racism and racialmicroaggressions faced by this group. Additionally, the opinions of selected Scottish politicians have been collected to gather an additional viewpoint on racism in Scotland. A theoretical perspective stemming from ontological security theory contributes to the racial microaggressions literature in unpacking how individual migrants negotiate traumatic experiences of racism and manage their identities. The analysis explores how migrant individuals may employ coping mechanisms and adopt distinct behaviours to minimise the daily trauma of racism and microaggressions experienced in Scotland. This study, therefore, highlights the potential for interdisciplinary research on racism, narrative, and security studies, and the opportunities for bringing together these distinct perspectives.

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In this chapter I examine the relationship between Scottish nationalism and Europeanness. In particular, I investigate pro-European rhetoric as used by the Scottish National Party (SNP) in public discourse. I then contrast the message of this discourse with survey evidence which shows that the Scottish public retain attitudes to outsiders that are not sharply different from those of other UK nations, including England. Scottish nationalism is often referred to as a politics which is civic, pro-European, and progressive in nature (Davidson et al. 2018). However, through this Scottish case study it is revealed that Scottish pro-Europeanness and other commonly-accepted traits of Scottishness have been contested in public debate over the last decades. Today Scottish nationalism, and support for the European Union, remains more nuanced than many outside observers may conclude. This conclusion is based on three main findings from the case study. The first point of note is that a hyperactive politicised Europeanness in macro-level politics has only marginal everyday reflection for the wider Scottish public, once we depart from the familiar measure of attitudes to the EU as being synonymous with openness to outsiders. The second is that Europeanness and nationalist identity are not inconsistent, and part of the explanation for Scotland's anti-Brexit stance is that it reflects the energies of the independence campaign. Lastly, Scotland's mainstream political framing of immigration has been employed to justify Scottish distinctiveness, and garner support for an independent Scotland in Europe. This case study exposes the clear links between Scottish nationalism and pro-European politics, highlighting that the two are not oppositional forces.