Democratic Deficit or the Europeanisation of Secession? Explaining the Devolution Referendums in Scotland
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7972797 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Paolo Dardanelli (0000-0003-1986-1604, University of Kent, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2005 |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 320-342 |
| Publication date | 2005-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Political Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0032-3217 • E-ISSN: 1467-9248 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-9248.2005.00531.x |
| OpenAlex | W2153702193 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 11 |
| References cited | 16 |
This article deals with the variation in the demand for self-government in Scotland – as measured by the vote in the two referendums – between 1979, when devolution was rejected, and 1997, when devolution was endorsed. The existing literature mainly deals with each of the two referendums in isolation and does not offer an explicitly comparative analysis of them. However, implicit comparisons contained in analyses of the 1997 referendum tend to identify as the main cause of the variation the ‘democratic deficit’ created by Conservative rule between 1979 and 1997, which was consistently rejected in Scotland. I take issue with this explanation on theoretical and empirical grounds and advances an alternative account grounded in an explicit comparison of the two referendums. Based on a rationalist approach, the analysis presented here identifies three key elements in the voting dynamics at the two points in time – a gap between support for self-government and the actual vote in the referendum; an interaction effect between attitudes to devolution and to independence; and the role of the European context in shaping perceptions of independence. I argue that significant change in these three variables (rather than a ‘democratic deficit’) appear to have been the most important determinants of the different results of the two referendums
Context (archaeology · Democracy · democratic deficit · Devolution (biology · Economics · Federalism · Government (linguistics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Referendum · Secession · Sociology · Voting · Irish and British Studies · Law · Political Systems and Governance · Scottish History and National Identity
Understanding ‘Utilitarian’ Support for European Integration in Scotland and Wales
Sticking to the Union? Nationalism, inequality and political disaffection and the geography of Scotland’s 2014 independence referendum
Characterisation of the Disadvantaged
The ‘Scotland is British’ Campaign, 1976-8
Deflecting European Union Influence on National Education Policy-Making
Framing referendum campaigns
Devolution and inequality
Probleme der Osterweiterung. Kleine Länder in der Europäischen Union
Contested Sovereignty
Territorial Determinants of the Brexit Vote
The dog that didn't bark
Settled will or divided society? Voting in the 1997 Scottish and Welsh devolution referendums
The 1997 Scottish Referendum
A Start to a New Song
Referendum Dynamics and the Irish Divorce Amendment
The Scottish and Welsh Devolution Referenda of 1979
The 1997 Devolution Referendum in Scotland
Constitutional Crisis
Voting in the 1997 Scottish and Welsh devolution referendums
Opinion change and voting behaviour in referendums
Elite division and voter confusion
Institutions and Rationality in Politics – Three Varieties of Neo-Institutionalists
Partisanship, national identity and constitutional preferences
Sovereignty, leadership and voting in the Quebec referendums
| Unique citing works | 11 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,55 |
| Citation span | 2006 - 2019 (14) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 11 |