The territorial division of power in the UK constitution is an ever-evolving phenomenon. Under devolution, Scotland has developed a considerable foreign policy footprint. This footprint, however, is not strictly in accordance with the legal foundations of the devolution settlement, representing a largely political development of successive Scottish governments placing increasing significance on external relations since 1999. In departing from the legal architecture of the devolution settlement, this political development creates an undesirable element of ambiguity with regard to Scotland’s international role. In the light of this, this report examines the development of Scotland’s foreign policy footprint, with reference to its historical background, focusing in particular on the impact of devolution. The report will also examine the current political and institutional environment surrounding Scotland’s international role, examining the existing foreign policy infrastructure in Scotland and the relationship between the Scottish and UK governments in this area.
Three particular facts are apparent: Scotland has a substantial foreign policy footprint; the UK’s constitutional arrangements as they are currently are ill suited to accommodating this footprint; and that this already flawed system has been severely strained due to poor intergovernmental relations – a situation which is likely to continue given the gulf in political consensuses between the Scottish and UK political classes.
A central concern of this report is therefore examining whether constitutional reform in relation to
Scotland’s foreign policy role might alleviate this territorial conflict between the Scottish and UK
governments. As such, the report will recommend several options the UK could potentially adopt with regard to sub-state foreign policy. These recommendations will be based on a comparative analysis of other sub-state actors’ foreign policy capacities; these being Germany, Canada, Belgium, Spain and Denmark. These models will be compared to one another and to the particular Scottish situation in order to understand what features might be adopted in the UK.
Reuben Duffy is a Research Fellow at The Constitution Society. He holds a Joint Honours BA from Strathclyde University in History & Politics and International Relations, and an MLitt in Modern History from the University of St Andrews.
This publication presents the personal views of the author and not those of The Constitution Society, which publishes it as a contribution to debate on this important subject.