Between autonomy and interdependence: Scottish independence and intergovernmental co-ordination

苏格兰独立的支持者一直热衷于强调，独立的苏格兰在独立后将与不列颠群岛的其他国家保持密切联系。这些关系--通常被称为独立的“英国维度”--将不仅仅是人与企业之间的联系。据推测，各国政府有时也会在共享机构中共同努力，一些共同服务仍可在边界的南北提供。这项研究探索和评估了这些假设，以及这些协会将对政府和治理产生的影响。主要目标是为有关苏格兰独立的机会和限制的政治、政策和公共辩论提供信息。它考察了苏格兰政府和英国政府(其他部分)在独立后建立这种关系的可行性和可能的特点。政府间需要多大程度的协调？现有的机构和程序是否能够促进两个独立国家之间的关系？如果不能，需要建立哪些机构？关键参与者之间的权力关系将是什么：一个独立的苏格兰作为一个主权小国，能否在与其更大、更强大的邻国的关系中拥有权力和影响力？现有的机构和程序或正在讨论的政策的侧重点和重点如何塑造这些关系？争端将如何解决？为了帮助回答这些问题，这项研究重点关注了两个政策领域--社会保障和能源。如果苏格兰人在独立公投中投了赞成票，那么这些问题的责任很可能将从英国议会和政府转移到苏格兰议会和政府。然而，由于共享劳动力市场、共享能源市场、人员、货物和企业在不列颠群岛之间的自由流动，以及几十年来共享服务提供的遗留问题，重叠可能仍然存在。这将需要各国政府之间进行一定程度的协调。该项目将探讨政府间关系在每个领域的范围，并考虑这些关系可能具有的性质。我们可能会预计，两国政府在能源领域的关系会更加可控，两国政府基本上都致力于低碳能源(尽管现任苏格兰政府拒绝使用核能)，但在社会保障领域，鉴于苏格兰北部和南部主要政党对福利改革的不同看法，两国关系会出现更多问题。为了帮助阐明这些问题，该项目将着眼于其他主权国家及其与邻国的关系。它将研究丹麦及其与其他北欧国家的关系，丹麦与北欧国家共享劳动力市场、能源市场、共享的政府间机构，部分还共享共同的文化。该项目还将借鉴爱尔兰的经验。爱尔兰共和国长期以来一直与英国政府有政府间关系和协议，包括为其公民建立一个共同的旅行区，其中包括共享公共服务的权利。作为英国境内的一个下放领土，北爱尔兰对社会安全和能源负有责任，必须与英国政府和爱尔兰政府联系，以管理重叠、共同关心的问题和分担责任。这些比较案例将被用来理解独立或半独立国家之间的政府间关系的动态，并帮助我制定苏格兰独立后政府间协调可能如何形成的情景。这些研究将对学术研究做出贡献，并在各种公共活动、媒体投稿和与社会保障和能源领域的关键利益攸关方举行的研讨会上传达给更广泛的受众。

Supporters of Scottish independence have been keen to emphasize that an independent Scotland would maintain close ties to the other nations of the British Isles after independence. These ties - often dubbed 'the British dimension' of independence - would not just be between people and business. It is assumed that governments would also sometimes work together in shared institutions and that some common services may still be delivered north and south of the border. This research explores and evaluates these assumptions, and the impact such associations would have for government and governing. A primary goal is to inform political, policy and public debates on the opportunities and constraints of Scottish independence. It examines the feasibility and likely character of these kinds of relationships between the Scottish government and the (rest of) UK government in the event of independence. How much inter-governmental co-ordination would be necessary? Are existing institutions and processes capable of facilitating relations between two independent countries, and if not, what institutions would need to be put in place? And what would be the power relationship between the key players: could an independent Scotland as a small sovereign country have power and influence in its relations with its much larger and more powerful neighbour? How might these relations be shaped by the institutions and procedures in place, or the profile and salience of the policies under discussion? And how would disputes be resolved?To help answer these questions, the research takes a focused look at two policy areas - social security and energy. If Scots voted YES in the independence referendum, it is likely that responsibility for these would shift from the UK parliament and government to the Scottish parliament and government. However, overlaps may remain as a result of the shared labour market, shared energy market, the free movement of people, goods and business across the British Isles, and the legacy of shared service provision over many decades. These would require some degree of co-ordination between governments. This project will explore the scope for intergovernmental relations in each of these fields and consider the likely character that these relations may have. We might expect relations to be more manageable in the energy field, where both governments broadly share a commitment to low carbon energy (albeit that the current Scottish government has rejected nuclear energy), but more problematic in the field of social security, given the competing views on welfare reform among the leading parties north and south of the border.To help shed light on these issues, the project will look to other sovereign countries and their relations with their neighbours. It will study Denmark and its relations with the other Nordic countries, with whom Denmark shares a labour market, energy market, shared intergovernmental institutions and in part a shared culture. The project will also draw insights from Ireland. The Irish Republic has long had intergovernmental relationships and agreements with the UK government, including a common travel area for their citizens that includes shared entitlements to public services. As a devolved territory within the UK, Northern Ireland has responsibility for social security and energy, and must liaise with both the UK government and the Irish government to manage overlaps, matters of mutual concern and shared responsibilities. These comparative cases will be used to understand the dynamics of intergovernmental relations between independent or semi-independent countries, and to help me to develop scenarios of how intergovernmental co-ordination might take shape after Scottish independence.The research will make a contribution to academic study and be conveyed to broader audiences in a wide variety of public events, media contributions and seminars with key stakeholders in the fields of social security and energy.