2013/01/01 by Nicola McEwen · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Political Systems and Governance #Scottish History and National Identity #Irish and British Studies
paper · doi:10.1057/9781137025449_14
openalex publication_date 2013/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Multilevel government arrived late in the UK, with the exception of Northern Ireland. In the case of the latter, a system of devolved government had been in place since the partition of the island of Ireland in 1921, until the imposition of direct rule in 1972 amidst violent sectarian conflict. Until devolution was introduced in Scotland and Wales in 1999, and reintroduced in Northern Ireland, the UK was one of the most centralized states in Europe. Yet it always maintained a degree of territorial heterogeneity. In identity terms, a British nation coexisted with the nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, and only in the latter instance did this prove problematic. Each of these territories also enjoyed — to varying degrees — institutional distinctiveness, helping to nurture the development of distinctive systems of party politics and electoral behavior. This distinctiveness has been reinforced by devolution and multilevel government. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.