space and is the opposite ofsupranationalism. Demands for devolution of politi-
cal power often are the result of the coalescence of a national consciousness on the
part of a minority group within anation-state. Regional constituencies, some-
times based solely on location, but more frequently based on distinctions of his-
tory, language, religion, or economic interests (or perhaps all of these), may call
for devolution to increase their political and legal autonomy over their “home”
region. Devolution in the extreme can lead to the collapse of a larger state into
smaller, sovereign countries, as the degree of political control transferred to the
smaller units so weakens the authority of the central government that it can no
longer maintain its political integrity, and it disintegrates along the borders of the
autonomous regions.
Almost all nation-states evince devolutionary tendencies to some degree, but
for some, devolution is seen as a means of appeasing regional demands for greater
influence in the political process, while simultaneously avoiding the exacerbation
of centrifugal forces. Ironically, in recent decades calls for greater devolution in
many European countries have increased along with the rise of supranationalism,
in the form of the European Union. Two countries in Western Europe in particular
represent examples of recent devolutionary trends: the United Kingdom and
Spain. In the case of the United Kingdom, strong regional identities began emerg-
ing in Wales and Scotland in the 1970s, followed by a similar movement even
within the borders of England itself—for example, in the region of Cornwall in
western England. In 1997 plebiscites were held in both Scotland and Wales, where
public surveys showed strong support for “home rule,” or more precisely, the dev-
olution of local political decision-making to legislatures in both regions. In 1999,
for the first time since 1707, a Scottish Parliament was convened, charged with
making law on local issues for Scots, as separate from the British Parliament. In
Wales, a governing assembly was assigned the authority to determine budgetary
allotments for the region, although in both Scotland and Wales the British national
government retained authority in matters of foreign policy, national defense, and
other matters. Spain is a country that has overseen even greater devolution of
political power to its constituent regions. Since the death of Francisco Franco in
1975, the Spanish national government has steadily relinquished authority to
17 autonomous regions and 2 autonomous cities. Critics of devolution argue that
certain regions of the country, particularly Catalonia and the Basque region, func-
tion almost independently of the Spanish federal government, and that such a high
degree of devolution of power to the provinces threatens to weaken the Spanish
state, as well as leading to a redundant and inefficient administrative structure.
In Spain and the United Kingdom devolution has taken place in a nonviolent
context for the most part, but in the case of the former Yugoslavia, the process ulti-
mately led to state collapse and the most destructive episode in Europe since the
Devolution 101