‘World needs to get used to Scotland being a global actor’, says former presidential adviser

The remark from Antonia Chambers, who has advised presidents and other policymakers in the US, is revealed in the second edition of Stephen Gethins’s book Nation to Nation: Scotland’s Place in the World, which is due for release next month.

The former North East Fife MP spoke to Chambers as part of his research into Scotland’s international footprint.

Chambers told Gethins Scotland needs to build its international role and that the world must pay attention to what is happening in the country.

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"There is interest among the international community"

In a segment seen exclusively by The National, Gethins writes: “Given the impact of Brexit, the continued debate about independence and Scotland’s longstanding international footprint there is also interest among the international community in what is happening in Scotland.

“In researching this book, Antonia Chambers, a long-serving senior US State Department analyst, told me Scotland also needs to build its international role saying: Scotland needs to build these links be it with business, academia, science and a range of other actors to get them accustomed to a Scottish perspective.

“Ms Chambers also stressed that the world needed to pay attention to what was happening in Scotland saying the world ‘needs to get used to Scotland as an international actor’.”

Northern sea routes "important for Scotland"

Chambers, who spent the latter part of her career focused on Arctic policy, also spoke about the increased importance of northern sea routes in the book.

She argued Scotland could be a terminus for these, but there is a need to plan for change now.

“Global warming means that the Arctic is becoming more accessible to transport and commerce due to melting ice bringing, economic and security challenges and opportunities,” Gethins added in the introductory chapter.

“This will be important for Scotland.

“Antonia Chambers told me of the increased importance of northern sea routes. She told me in late 2021 me that there could be change within a timescale of five to ten years and that while ‘Scotland could be a terminus for northern sea routes’ there is a need to plan for change now.

“The Scottish Government appears to be paying closer attention to the Arctic than the UK Government.

“That is natural given geography but there has been some criticism at Westminster that the UK Government has failed to take the issue as seriously as it should with concerns expressed by committees in the Lords and Commons.”

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Scotland's standing 'only going to expand'

The first edition of Nation to Nation was released last year, in which Gethins argues a Scottish-influenced foreign policy could bring hope to countries across the globe.

In the second edition, he delves into the topic further through seven chapters exploring an “unwanted divorce” between Scotland and the EU, Scotland and the High North, and the UK’s foreign policy divergences.

Gethins - who was the SNP’s Foreign Affairs and Europe spokesperson and headed up the party’s Scotland in the World team during his time at Westminster - said Chambers relayed to him what he had heard a lot from officials and diplomats already, that Scotland’s standing in the world is only going to expand in the years to come.

He said: “One thing that struck me when I wrote the book is that there is a clear recognition that Scotland has a significant international footprint, that Scotland is influenced by the world around it but is influencing the world around it [as well].

“Given the impact of foreign affairs on things that really matter to people like energy and food prices, it’s so important that we discuss and debate Scotland’s foreign policy footprint in a sensible way.

“Antonia Chambers reflected what I’ve heard from a number of diplomats, officials and even politicians around the world that Scotland is an international actor whose participation in global affairs is only set to grow over the next few years.

“Given the Scottish Government’s leading efforts on issues like climate change with COP26, on Brexit, and that leadership role around our relationship with the European Union, it is clear Scotland is being taken increasingly seriously as an international actor.”