Between two unions. Europeanisation and Scottish devolution

Abstract:

The title of this book encapsulates the story within and the wit of it, as it unravels the wool of the Scottish will to identify itself apart from the Union with England and to knit a new identity within the European Union.

The work is organised in three parts spread over eleven chapters in all. Following a fulsome introduction, part one -the 1970s - opens with chapter two which considers the role of the political parties in the politics of Scottish self-government. The other key players were the various interest groups, amongst which the most prominent - the Church of Scotland, the Scottish Trades Union Congress and the business organisations - are covered in chapter three. The combined persuasive powers of these key players yielded supportive responses from the public for devolution but, as the referendum result showed, a reluctance for secession and this situation is examined in chapter four. The European dimension had remained absent from the key players’ strategies for self-government which was a distinct feature leading to the failed referendum as discussed in chapter five.

Part two - the 1990s - follows the same pattern as part one, with chapter six exploring the new strategies of the political parties, which now included a strong European element particularly within the SNP. In chapter seven the move of the interest groups is analysed, showing a new emphasis on a pro-European stance held throughout by the Church of Scotland. Chapter eight explores the way these new pro-European attitudes were reflected in public opinion, leading to a firm endorsement of devolution in the 1997 referendum. Not surprisingly this major shift in public policy and public opinion created an atmosphere for the pro-devolutionists to develop a distinct European dimension for Scotland as a regional government within Europe, and this is fully explored in chapter nine.

The third part deals with the conclusions of the study. Chapter ten explains the interaction of the devolution and Europeanisation experience in Scottish and UK politics relating to self-government and EU integration. The final chapter takes the unravelled wool of the past to knit a new cloth for Scotland to wear in the European Union. Politics is after all a craft industry.

Paolo Dardanelli is Lecturer in European and Comparative Politics at the University of Kent.