-In 1997, the newly elected Labor party in London gave the Scots (and the Welsh) the opportunity to vote- not for independence, but for devolution. They both voted in favor, taking a major devolutionary step in one of Europe’s oldest and most stable unitary states.
- Scotland’s new autonomous status has not necessarily fueled greater calls for independence. - At the heart of most devolutionary moments however, is a strong sense of ethnocultural or economic difference and when sense of difference coincide with conflicting senses of territory, the results can be explosive.
- Devolutionary pressures often arise from a combination of sources.
- Catalonia produces some 25% of all Spanish exports by value and 40% of its industrial exports.
- Economic forces play an even more prominent role in Italy and France.
- Italy faces serious devolutionary forces on its mainland peninsula as well one is the growing regional disparity between north and south. The wealthier north stands in sharp contrast to the poorer south.
- The most recent of Italian politicians was the Northern League which raised the prospect of an independent state called Padania. The Northern League’s Efforts fell short.
- Devolutionary events most often occur on the margins of states.
- Distance, remoteness, and marginal location are allies of devolution.
- The regions most likely to seek devolution are those far from the national capitol. Many are separated by water, desert, or mountains from the center of power and adjoin neighbors that may support separatist objectives.
- Note also that many islands are subject to devolutionary processes: Corsica (France), Sardinia (Italy), Taiwan (China), Singapore (Malaysia), Zanzibar (Tanzania), Jolo (Philippines), Puerto Rico (United States), Mayotte (Comoros), and East Timor (Indonesia) are notable examples. As this list indicates, some of these islands become independent states, while others were divided during devolution.
-The U.S