Devolution and Constitutional Change
RGS-IBG Conference 2002
2-6 January 2002
Queen's University, BelfastTitle of Session:
Devolution, Constitutional Change and Territorial Governance
Convenors: Mark Goodwin, Martin Jones, and Rhys Jones (University of Wales Aberystwyth)
Research Group:
Political Geography Research GroupMODULE 1 09.00-10.30 Chair: Mark Goodwin
Paper title: Devolution and Constitutional Change: An ESRC Programme Overview
Author(s): Charlie Jeffery (University of Birmingham)Abstract:
This paper provides an overview of the Economic and Social Research Council’s ‘Devolution and Constitutional Change’ research programme, which is constructed around three interlocking themes – nationalism and national identity; governance and constitutional matters; and economic and social policy. The paper argues that the major constitutional changes taking place in the UK provide a timely and unrepeatable opportunity for academic analysis on devolution and the various political, economic and social research contours of the ESRC’s programme are outlined.
Key words: Devolution, Constitutional Change, Policy Research
Paper title: Devolution, Economic Governance, and Uneven Development: Towards a Spatial Division of the State?Author(s): Mark Goodwin, Martin Jones, and Rhys JonesAbstract:
In recent years there has been considerable interest in the shifting contours of economic development, where debates have centred on the connections between the regulation and governance of contemporary capitalism and its territorial form. This work has suggested that the capacity of any given territory to ‘pin down’ or ‘embed’ increasingly globalised processes of economic development is contingent on a whole series of social, cultural and institutional frameworks. In this context, we suggest that devolution is significantly altering the institutional architecture of the UK state through the creation of Assemblies for Wales, Northern Ireland and London, a Parliament for Scotland, and England’s Regional Development Agencies. What is not yet clear is whether devolution has enhanced or hindered the capacity of the new institutions to foster successful economic governance, since to date the experience of ‘better governance’ has been somewhat uneven. Building on this academic and policy concern, and drawing on empirical work funded by the ESRC that is focusing on the institutions of governance responsible for formulating economic development strategies, this paper offers a conceptual framework through which to explore the changing territorial geographies of the UK’s economic governance. Working within the tradition of strategic-relational state theory, we suggest that it is no longer enough to simply refer to a multivariate ‘hollowing out’ of the nation state in an era of economic and political restructuring. Instead, we suggest that devolution presents geographers with a unique opportunity to theorise the state as an institutionally grounded territorial and scalar matrix, which is currently being ‘filled in’ unevenly across the four territories leading to an increasingly complex spatial division of the state.
Key words: devolution, state theory, economic governance, uneven development
Paper title: Devolution and Public Policy: Divergence or Convergence?Author(s): Michael Keating (University of Aberdeen) , John Loughlin (University of Wales Cardiff)Abstract:Key words:
MODULE 2 11.00-12.30 Chair: Martin Jones
Paper title: Building a World Class Region: Making Politics in South East EnglandAuthor(s): Adam Tickell and Steve Muson (University of Bristol) and Peter John (Birbeck College, University of London)Abstract:
Of all the policies inherited by Tony Blair from John Smith’s Labour Party, the one he was least able to jettison was devolution. This is a policy course that runs counter to many of the precepts New Labour lives by: it involves relinquishing, rather than recentralizing, power; the (limited) loss of budgetary control; and the empowerment of a regional political cadre openly despised by Labour Party ‘modernisers’. Yet while there was an overarching necessity for changing the constitutional settlement in Northern Ireland, a political imperative in Scotland, and a promise to be kept in Wales, any remaining enthusiasm in the New Labour hierarchy for English devolution was undermined by the temerity of Londoners in voting for Ken Livingstone. Focusing on the South East, this paper explores the fitful devolution to the English regions and the extent to which the regional development agencies and regional assemblies have the capacity to reshape the political infrastructure
Key words: Devolution, England’s South East, RDAs
Paper title: Devolution and Economic Governance in ScotlandAuthor(s): Danny MacKinnon (University of Aberdeen)Abstract:
Processes of state re-organisation and rescaling have attracted considerable interest in recent years. In the British context, devolution can be seen as the latest ‘layer’ of institutional reform being superimposed on an uneven political and economic landscape. As such, the interaction between devolution and pre-existing regional conditions is producing new geographies of governance. In Scotland, the process of devolution is requiring established regional development agencies such as Scottish Enterprise (SE) and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) to adjust to a new institutional environment. This paper examines ‘vertical’ and ‘horizontal’ dimensions of these processes of adjustment. The former refers to relationships between organisations operating at different geographical scales. While UK-level policy initiatives were previously subject to a process of institutional ‘filtering’ at regional (Scottish) and sub-regional levels, the enhanced capacity of Scottish institutions following devolution indicates that Scottish-level initiatives will themselves be subject to sub-regional filtering processes. In this context, the Scottish Executive has sought to ‘modernise’ SE and HIE through a renewed emphasis on integration and delivery and the increasing involvement of Executive officials in the formulation of sub-regional accumulation strategies. The ‘horizontal’ dimension, on the other hand, refers to inter-agency relationships at the local level. Here, an increased concern with partnership and co-ordination is reflected in the formation of Local Economic Forums. While designed to reduce duplication and rivalry in the delivery of business development services, this initiative introduces another organisation into an already crowded institutional landscape. In conclusion, the paper suggests that the emphasis on the incremental adaptation of existing arrangements may give way to more far-reaching forms of restructuring in the face of increasing pressures for Scotland to maintain its institutional advantages over the English regions.
Key words: Devolution, Economic Development, Scotland
Paper title: Devolution and the Politics of Business RepresentationAuthor(s): Dave Valler (University of Sheffield), Andy Wood (University of Cincinati), Mike Raco (University of Reading), Nick Phelps (University of Leeds), and Pete Shirlow (University of Ulster)Abstract:
Political devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and the establishment of Regional Development Agencies and Regional Chambers in the nine English regions has been at the forefront of New Labour’s economic policy since gaining office in 1997. Within this overall context of devolution and decentralisation government policy has emphasised partnership forms of governance. Yet as Thompson (1996) has argued, such inclusiveness is constructed around the primacy of the competitiveness agenda, which has been at the heart of Labour Party strategy since the early 1990s. In this sense business interests have a particular salience in the new arrangements. In the UK, however, business interest representation at the regional scale has historically been underdeveloped. Other than the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which has a set of regional branches, representative business organisations tend to be either locally rooted, as in the case of chambers of commerce, or predominantly organised on a national scale, such as the various trade associations. As such the appeal for business involvement around the new devolved arrangements prompts critical questions around the realignment of business interest representation at these scales and the impact of business organisation on policy making.
Key words: Devolution, Economic Development, Business Representation
MODULE 3 14.30-16.00 Chair: Rhys Jones
Paper title: A Comparison of City-Region Dynamics in the UK, Spain and ItalyAuthor(s): Benito Giordano and Elisa Roller (University of Manchester)Abstract:In light of the intensified debates about city-regions in the English context, this paper explores the nature and contours of the city-region dynamic in both Spain and Italy, which allows useful comparisons to be made with the emerging English situation. Comparisons with the Spanish and Italian cases are particularly prevalent in this regard because in both countries the city-region dynamic is a well-developed one. In both countries, the major metropolitan cities have directly elected mayors that are powerful and important figures not only at the city but also at the national and international level. Moreover, at the regional level, there are elected presidents that also have significant amounts of power and influence. Focusing upon the Spanish and Italian case study regions of Catalonia and Lombardy, therefore, the paper will explore (a) the variety of responsibilities and competencies that the different tiers of governance of have, (b) the ways in which the interests of city core and regional hinterlands are balanced and integrated, and (c) examples of policy areas in which cities and regions either compete or collaborate. By way of conclusion, the paper will draw relevant comparisons with the ongoing English situation, and especially that emerging in the North West of England.
Key words: Devolution, city-regions, comparative European governance
Paper title: Devolution and the Handling of UK European Union BusinessAuthor(s): Martin Burch (University of Manchester), Caitriona Carter (Universityof Edinburgh),
Ricardo Gomez (University of Manchester)
PatriciaHogwood (Univesity of Glasgow), Andrew Scott (University ofEdinburgh)
Abstract:Devolution challenges the established UK approach to handling EU policy making. Traditionally this has involved a highly centralised process focused on Whitehall and reflecting London concerns. Under the devolution settlement European policy making is reserved to the UK government but given that many of the responsibilities of the devolved authorities involve EU considerations, as a matter of practicality, the new authorities have to be involved. The paper explores the new arrangements and the points of tension that are evident at least so far as arrangements in Wales and Scotland are concerned, though attention is also given to the situation affecting the English regions and the view from Whitehall. An historical institutionalist perspective is deployed in analysing what is taking place. Part of the story is about political space and distance and how that is altering. We show that devolution involves a significant shift of the framework and ground rules for policy making and a potential opening out of political space; what is not yet clear is exactly how the new opportunities this creates will be exploited.Key words:
Paper title: Devolution and Decentralisation in Wales and Brittany
Author(s): Alastair Cole (University of Wales Cardiff), Colin Williams (University of Wales Cardiff)Abstract:Key words:
MODULE 4 16.30-18.00 Chair: Mark Goodwin
Paper title: Cross-Border Governance, Funding and the Need to Stay DeprivedAuthor(s): Máiréad Corr and John McDonagh (National University of Ireland, Galway)Abstract:
Irish government initiatives have made little impact on alleviating the social and economic problems of the border region (Greer, 2000; O'Dowd et al. 1994). Despite the nature of borders and the significant social divisions they create, the growth of globalisation and the transnational co-operation and integration that is increasingly being promoted, forms a new dimension to the operation of various institutions along borders and to the emergence of a new type of cross-border governance. This paper delves into this area of cross-border governance through an exploration of the voluntary/community sector and its attempts for development along the border region in Ireland. While it is accepted that the future role of government along the Irish border is likely to be shaped by the constitutional changes following the Good Friday Agreement, the paper will further investigate the extent to which community empowerment or community development is possible without a reorganisation and decentralisation of systems of governance and power (Knox and Haslam, 1999; Shortall, 1994). A key deconstruction within this debate will explore the growing need for mechanisms where people, who are affected by the patterns of development pursued, have an opportunity to express their needs and have input into the dialogue which leads to the choice of the macro strategy, as opposed to staying "deprived" to fulfil the criteria of funding agencies and government initiatives.Key words: Devolution, Cross-Border Governance, Ireland
Paper title: Devolution, Identity and the Reproduction of Ethno-Sectarianism in Northern IrelandAuthor(s): Pete Shirlow (University of Ulster)Abstract:The extent to which consociational ideas of power-sharing, proportionality and community equality might provide a theoretical basis for the future governance of Northern Ireland has occasioned much debate in the political science, sociological and geographical literature, which informs a consciously interdisciplinary approach to the broad debate on devolution. Indeed, the 1998 Good Friday Peace Agreement reflects consociational principles and, in this respect, replicates, the 1973 Sunningdale Agreement which failed, at least in part, because the Unionist élite could not deliver the support of its own party members. In this sense, a successful elaboration of consociationalism demands that an élite must discipline its party members through the implementation of strategies that subordinate linkages between the elements of the party in favour of those between each section and the leadership. Consociationalism also assumes sufficient homogeneity within ethnic blocs for élite representatives to ‘deliver’, implement and maintain a settlement, thereby reducing interethnic tension. Horowitz (1985) emphasises that intra-ethnic conflict can increase under consociational arrangements, due to the electoral incentives offered to parties within an ethnic bloc to act as its stoutest defender. This in turn can impinge upon the reduction in conflict arising from an interethnic settlement. The first question begged is that of the extent of representativeness of political élites in forging a political accommodation and developing a devolved political settlement. Elsewhere, it has been suggested that political élites and party supporters may block change desired by electorates (Pratt 2000). The work done on British political parties suggests that party members tend to adopt attitudes more hardline than party electorates (Seyd and Whiteley 1992; Seyd, Whiteley and Richardson 1994). This paper explores these concerns in the context of contemporary development in Northern Ireland, focusing on connections between devolution, institutional development and societal transformation.
Key words: Devolution, Consociationalism, Ireland
Paper title: Monitoring Devolution in Ireland: The IssuesAuthor(s): Robin Wilson (Democratic Dialogue/Queens University Belfast)Abstract:This paper distils the work of the Northern Ireland devolution monitoring team, led by Dr Rick Wilford and Dr Robin Wilson. It explores why devolution has proved so problematic in Northern Ireland and why it has been accompanied by an exacerbation, rather than attenuation, of the unionist-nationalist antagonism. In particular it seeks to explain why such issues as weapons decommissioning, security 'normalisation', policing and flag--as proxies for the underlying question of territorial 'sovereignty'--have been the focus of recurrent crises and why they have proved so difficult to resolve. It concludes by suggesting how devolution in the region could be placed on a sounder footing.Key words:
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