Ten years of devolution in the United Kingdom

Devolution in the United Kingdom – the handing down of administrative and legislative competencies from its central Westminster Parliament to parliamentary bodies in its constituent parts – has been described as the most radical constitutional reform for more than a century. Ten years after the first devolved parliaments were opened the authors of this volume take stock of the devolution process so far. How can we conceptualise the newly emerging territorial order of the UK? How does it work and what are its central characteristics? However, as Ron Davies has famously pointed out, devolution is a process not an event. The analysis of current problems and debates is therefore also linked to questions about the future. How sustainable is the current model? Where might challenges come from? Into which directions are current trends and developments pointing? In the essays of this volume both sets of questions are intertwined, providing the reader with fascinating snapshots at a constantly moving target.