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DEVOLUTION?
Many years ago Charles Darwin gave us the Theory of Evolution and changed our outlook on the origins of man. When you hear the word ‘Revolution’, visions of France, Che Guevara or the Bolshevik uprising come to mind. But what in the world is ‘Devolution’? Could it mean the opposite of evolution? Is it some horrible misprint that UK newspapers can’t seem to correct? Actually, for the Scots, Welsh, and Northern Irish, its meaning runs much deeper than you and I might imagine. Devolution is basically a political process which gives various regions of a country an increased amount of responsibility for managing their own affairs. This can actually go as far as allowing the creation of regional legislatures. The legislation controls domestic policy whilst the central government of the whole country keeps control over things like foreign policy and national defence. Many democratic countries which have areas that were once independent countries often go through this process of devolution. The United Kingdom, which is composed of many previously independent kingdoms, is a prime example of this. Through the Scotland Act 1998, the Government of Wales Act 1998, and the Northern Ireland Act 1998, each region has regained differing degrees of what is called ‘home rule’. In the case of Scotland, which lost its independence in the 1707 Act of Union but has a strong nationalist movement to this day, devolution means the ability to preserve its cultural heritage and regain some form of self-government without destabilising the country as a whole. Before July 1, 1999, when the Scotland Act actually went into effect, the UK Parliament in Westminster was largely responsible for Scotland’s legislation. Afterwards, ‘devolved’ governmental matters ranging from local government, economic development, and housing to education, tourism and sports could be controlled directly by the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. This newly empowered parliament even has the ability to reject legislation (as long as it affects Scotland) passed by the central government in Westminster - whether they like it or not! The National Assembly for Wales has a much more limited range of devolution and power, but the Welsh cry for independence has never been as strong as the Scottish (take the film ‘Braveheart’ as an example). One of the limitations of the Assembly, for example, involves the lack of authority to make primary laws as Scotland can do; it can only delegate legislation within its area of competence. These areas include tourism, culture, ancient monuments, highways, health, education, transportation, agriculture, environment, sports and recreation, water and flooding, and the Welsh language. However, the symbolic nature of having an elective legislative body within the Welsh border for the first time in 700 years is a definite reason for national pride (along with their rugby team and Tom Jones, of course). Unfortunately, this process has been far more difficult and fragile for Northern Ireland. This region previously experienced home rule from 1921 to the end of the 1970s until parliamentary action and political violence made the area virtually ‘ungovernable’. In 1998 a breakthrough occurred with the signing of the Belfast Agreement, commonly known as the ‘Good Friday Agreement.’ This document has formed a basis for the current state of devolution, but has recently run into trouble due to disagreement within the new Northern Ireland Assembly as well as between the Assembly and Westminster. Though the creation of these newer, more powerful Assemblies and Parliaments takes control away from the central government and contradicts the idea of a federal system of government, some comparison can be made with other democratic countries like the US, Australia, and Canada. The states, provinces, and territories of these countries have long enjoyed somewhat devolved system of government by having their own regional variations in the law. For example, in the United States, each individual state has control over its specific laws like capital punishment, legal drinking age, and the legal speed limit on roads and highways, as well as many others. Even with all this state controlled legislation, if you asked most people from the US what the word ‘devolution’ means, they wouldn’t know either! In a nutshell, devolution gives formerly independent countries the ability to be and feel more independent without having to break away from the positive aspects of being integrated within a larger united single country. It’s like deciding to move out of your parents’ house, but still remaining part of the family.
1. What is devolution?
2. What is the United Kingdom composed of? Enumerate it.
3. What does the devolution mean to Scotland?
4. What other countries apart from United Kingdom went through the devolution?
5. What power do have state governments in the United States?