Undergraduate Course: Comparing Scottish Devolution (PLIT10080)
Course Outline
School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
Summary | This course will teach students how to understand Scottish devolution by comparing it with other forms of territorial governance, especially devolution, federalism, multi-level governance, regionalism and nationalism. Reflecting on broader theories of nationalism, federalism and regionalism and bringing in examples from other multi-level polities in Europe, North America or beyond it seeks to answer the following questions: Why did the quest for Scottish devolution arise? What is Scotland's constitutional power and would it make any difference if the UK was a federal state? Who pays for Scotland? Does policy divergence between the UK nations threaten citizenship rights? What is Scotland's position in a Europe of the Regions? What has been the role of political parties and voters in Scotland in driving regional autonomy? What are intergovernmental relations for? Does the asymmetric constitutional arrangement in which self-rule only extends to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland turn the English into second class citizens? Does devolution put Scotland on a slippery slope towards secession? |
Course description |
Not entered
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Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 4 Politics/International Relations courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course ** |
High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- understand the meaning of different forms of territorial governance, especially devolution, federalism, multi-level governance, regionalism, nationalism.
- critically appraise competing theoretical perspectives and empirical analyses on the development of regionalism and multi-level government in Scotland and other comparative cases.
- place Scottish devolution in a comparative perspective, and draw comparisons and contrasts with devolution across the UK, and with other forms of territorial government in other multi-level and multi-national states.
- effectively apply the comparative method.
- develop research, analytical and presentation skills, through guided research in preparation for assessment and tutorial presentations.
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Reading List
"As the course will be delivered online, group activity is more difficult to organise and assess.
The briefing paper length has remained the same, although the % of the mark has decreased rather than increased. This is sometimes the first time that students may have completed a briefing paper, and I do not want it to account for as much as 40% of the course. For briefing papers, provided they are within the maximum length, the structure, content and style are more important.
The essay length has been extended to reflect the increased percentage of the grade." |
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
Special Arrangements |
This course has a quota. Preference will be given to Politics and IR students |
Additional Class Delivery Information |
1x 2 hour combined lecture and tutorial per week |
Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
Course organiser | Prof Nicola McEwen
Tel: (0131 6)51 1831
Email: N.McEwen@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Daniel Jackson
Tel: (0131 6)50 8253
Email: Daniel.Jackson@ed.ac.uk |
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