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After a decade of devolved power, the Scottish have discovered that taking a place at the top table of international affairs can be tough.
Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill's decision to free Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-­Megrahi has led to a diplomatic row and a potential US boycott of all things Scottish.
Released on humanitarian grounds - which MacAskill described as a ‘defining characteristic of Scotland and the Scottish people' - al-Megrahi was greeted in Tripoli by a jubilant crowd, some of them waving saltire flags.
President Obama led condemnation of the decision, and FBI director Robert Mueller even accused the Scottish government of ‘rewarding terrorism'. US media reports also expressed outrage and a website was set up to encourage consumers across the world to cancel holidays in Scotland and re­frain from buying Scottish produce.
This comes at a time when the num­ber of US visitors to Scotland is already on the wane, and many of the country's exports, particularly whisky, seek to exploit their authentic Scottishness.
Given that the country's reputation for financial prudence is already in tatters, following the bail-out of RBS and HBOS, there are questions about what lies ahead for Scotland.
We asked Ben Kay, head of planning at RKCR/Y&R, who has worked on the Visit London account, and Jim Prior, chief executive of The Partners, whose clients include Hilton Hotels, how they would go about the task of rebranding a whole country.


Ben Kay head of planning, RKCR/Y&R

Let's pause before we start bulldozing the hotels built on the wealth of the travelling greenback. In truth, Scotland has unwittingly just pulled off an extraordinary brand repositioning.
A country that has for so long stood in the American mind for castles, whisky and golf courses has shown itself to be a proud, modern and independent nation at the heart of world affairs.
Combine this with the tendency of US consumers to ignore calls to boycott other countries on ethical grounds (their third most-popular foreign travel destination is China) and you wonder just how badly Scotland will be affected.
The current storm will, rightly or wrongly, soon be nestling alongside ‘freedom fries' in the trashcan of forgotten causes.
In the meantime, Scotland has an opportunity to consolidate its new-found reputation, highlighting the nation as a centre of academic and cultural excell­ence, not to mention a progressive environmental and commercial centre.
Yes, there may be a short-term blip in the number of visitors, but, arguably, that's a small price to pay for the oppor­tunity to reinvent a nation's brand.

Remedy

• Don't panic. This is soon going to pass.
• Start to build Scotland's brand within world politics as an outspoken champion of human rights.
• Invest in a new, broader brand Scotland quickly and substantially.
• Don't ignore the domestic tourism market. Recessions breed reappraisal. There is a massive market that just needs a nudge to look North.
• If there's truth in the ‘release-for-oil' story, ignore all of the above, hire a good PR agency and have a long, hard look in the mirror.

Jim Prior chief executive, The Partners

‘We're all doomed!' Dad's Army's Private Frazer might be saying, were he still around today. However, just as his pro­phecies of armageddon were always premature in the show, I suspect the same is true for Scotland, now.
In the wake of Kenny MacAskill's decision, there is no doubt that some people's boats have been rocked.
There will be some in the US who decide against travelling to Scotland while the ripples on the loch remain, and there's not much that can be done to change their point of view.
Those that disagree with the politics so profoundly are unlikely to change their mind because of anything the tourism authority says or does.
However, these are a small number of people. For the vast majority of US citizens there remain a lot more reasons to go than to stay away. Ancestry, golf, whisky, castles, festivals, and even a mythical beast give Scotland an advent­ur­ous appeal that will overwhelm the doubts that this situation provokes.
Scotland's dramatic landscape has endured many crises before and with a little patience it will do so once more.

Remedy

• Keep calm and carry on. Play a round on the Old Course at St Andrews. By the time you've finished, the whole issue will probably have gone away.
• Tell Sean Connery to stay away from Flushing Meadows. No matter how well Andy Murray's challenge in the
• US Open goes, now is not the time to fill US TV screens with lingering images of Scottish pride.
• Ignore the US for while. Even if there is an impact on visitor numbers, there is ample opportunity to make this up elsewhere, particular­ly from Asia, Europe and the rest of the UK.