THE ANALYSIS OF DEVOLUTION REFORMS BY THE LABOUR GOVERNMENT : THE IMPACT OF EUROPEANIZATION AND PROSPECT FOR MULTI-LEVEL GOVERNANCE

在这个研究项目中，我考察了英国地区治理结构的主要变化。我特别关注欧洲化和多层次治理的概念，这些概念已被广泛用于分析欧洲政治的各个方面。虽然向苏格兰、威尔士和北方爱尔兰的权力下放可以被视为对这些国家内部日益增长的次国家身份的回应，以及解决长期种族冲突的努力，但欧洲化的影响显然在促进联合王国内部的区域权力下放方面发挥了重要作用。欧盟以若干方式发挥了加速区域权力下放的作用。欧盟的结构性基金为英国各地区提供了一种政治机会结构，以增强其影响力。欧盟通过接受苏格兰和威尔士等地区行为体作为其地区委员会的合法合作伙伴，为英国的权力下放做出了贡献。英国工党政府实施的权力下放可以说是“不对称的权力下放”。这意味着不同的权力和能力被赋予不同的地区，而不是赋予所有地区相同的权力，这是“对称下放”。一方面，不对称的权力下放对于解决每个区域的问题至关重要。但另一方面，这也给英国未来的治理带来了一些困难。它可能会加剧地区之间的竞争或对抗，如英格兰各地区，苏格兰和威尔士。此外，未来政治和经济环境的变化可能会激发苏格兰等周边地区的分离主义。

In this research project, I examined major changes of regional governing structure in the United Kingdom. I paid particular attention to the concepts of Europeanization and Multi-Level Governance, which had been widely used to analyze various aspects of European Politics these days. Although devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland could be seen as a response to growing sub-national identities within these nations, as well as an effort to resolve long running ethnic conflicts, the impact of Europeanization clearly played a significant part in terms of facilitating regional decentralization within the UK. The EU performed its role as an accelerator for regional decentralization in a number of ways. The structural funds of the EU provided a kind of political opportunity structures for various regions in the UK to enhance their influence. The EU contributed UK devolution by accepting regional actors like Scotland and Wales as legitimate partners in its Committee of the Regions. The UK devolution implemented by the Labour Government could be said as "asymmetrical devolution". It means different powers and competences were given to different regions, as opposed to giving same powers to all regions, which is "symmetrical devolution". On the one hand, asymmetrical devolution was essential in order to resolve each regions problems. But on the other hand, it also generated several difficulties for future governance in the UK. It might aggravate competition or antagonism between the regions, such as various English regions, Scotland and Wales. Moreover, future changes in political and economical environment may energize separatism within the peripheral regions like Scotland.