Nationalism and Devolution: An Enquiry into the Changing Dynamics of the Territorial Constitution of the United Kingdom Gareth John Prys Evans Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Aberystwyth Law School Aberystwyth University 2018 1 Declaration and Statements Word Count of thesis: 86,826 DECLARATION This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not being concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree. Candidate name Gareth John Prys Evans Signature: Date STATEMENT 1 This thesis is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. Where *correction services have been used, the extent and nature of the correction is clearly marked in a footnote(s). Other sources are acknowledged by footnotes giving explicit references. A bibliography is appended. Signature: Date [*this refers to the extent to which the text has been corrected by others] STATEMENT 2 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signature: Date NB: Candidates on whose behalf a bar on access (hard copy) has been approved by the University should use the following version of Statement 2: I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loans after expiry of a bar on access approved by Aberystwyth University. Signature: Date 2 Summary Candidate’s Surname/Family Name Evans Candidate’s Forenames (in full) Gareth John Prys Candidate for the Degree of PhD Academic year the work submitted 2018-19 for examination Summary: The United Kingdom is in a prolonged episode of constitutional unsettlement. Contemporary accounts have moved to analyse and explain this process as a recent phenomenon, isolated to the age of ‘globalisation’, and neglecting the historical aspects of the dynamics of the territorial constitution. This thesis seeks to investigate the historical basis of the recent shifts in constitutional practice, placing them in context. It aims to do this in three ways. First, it examines the nature of the UK’s territorial constitution; its dynamics and the relationships between its four constituent parts – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – and the historical processes that led to its formation. Second, it turns the structural elements of the territorial constitution into the external sphere, exploring how the influences of national identity and nationalism, as well as the wider construction of the global sphere, have influenced the development of the territorial constitution. Third, it charts the effects of devolution on the territorial constitution. This analysis focusses specifically on the events that led to the introduction of devolution in 1998, and the subsequent effects this has had on the traditional dynamics and arrangement of authority within the territorial constitution. This thesis then concludes with a discussion of the effects of the recent Brexit process on the territorial constitution. This thesis argues that central to understanding the dynamics of the territorial constitution lies the delicate balance between the legal and political conceptions of power and authority, in particular sovereignty. This thesis concludes that the future of the territorial constitution lies in understanding its past, the motivations for its construction and the long origins of its current turn towards unsettlement. 3 Acknowledgements I owe a particular debt of thanks to my supervisor, Dr Nathan Gibbs, who has been a constant source of support and guidance over the past four years, reading endless drafts of this thesis and offering detailed feedback and suggestions at all points along the way. I would also like to thank the staff at the National Library of Wales for their help and support in locating the majority of the sources used in this thesis. To my good friends and fellow PhD students, Jayne Kamintzis and Nina Sharp, as well as the rest of the “Geography Crew”, thank you for making this such an enjoyable process, and for being there through the highs and the lows of the past four years. Thank you also to my good friend, Rhodri Lewis, for being a ready source of humour and support over the many hours we have spent together in the National Library of Wales, and for reading through a number of draft chapters of this thesis. To Guri Framnes Dyngen, thank you for your untiring patience, love, wisdom and humour, without which I would have doubtless given up long ago, and which continuously helped me to see the light at the end of the tunnel in this research project. Finally, and most importantly, I would like to thank my parents, without whose help, encouragement and support, both emotionally and financially, I would not have been able to undertake and complete this thesis. Thank you for reading over numerous drafts and for giving me the confidence to carry on when the road ahead seemed never ending. I would like to dedicate this thesis to the memory of my grandfather, Charles James Kelly. 4 Contents Declaration and Statements .................................................................................................... 2 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. 4 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 8 The Context of this Thesis ..................................................................................................... 8 Research Questions .............................................................................................................. 11 Methodology ........................................................................................................................ 12 Structure of this thesis .......................................................................................................... 14 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 20 Chapter 1 – A Short History of the Territorial Constitution ............................................. 21 1.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 21 1.2. A Time before Union .................................................................................................... 22 1.2.1. England ................................................................................................................... 22 1.2.2. Defining the Periphery............................................................................................ 25 1.2.3. Summary ................................................................................................................. 43 1.3. Union and Revolution ................................................................................................... 44 1.3.1. Anglo-Welsh Union ................................................................................................ 44 1.3.2. Anglo-Scottish Union ............................................................................................. 48 1.3.3. Anglo-Irish Union................................................................................................... 57 1.4. The Rise of Nationalism ................................................................................................ 63 1.4.1. Ireland ..................................................................................................................... 64 1.4.2. Scotland and Wales ................................................................................................ 69 1.5. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 80 Chapter 2 – Identity and the State: Locating Britishness .................................................. 82 2.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................... 82 2.2. The State ........................................................................................................................ 84 5 2.3. The Idea of the Nation-State ......................................................................................... 90 2.3.1. Current Theories on Nations and Nationalism ....................................................... 91 2.3.2. An Alternative Approach to the Imagined Political Community ......................... 103 2.4. Locating Britishness .................................................................................................... 112 2.5. Concluding Remarks ................................................................................................... 125 Chapter 3 – The New World Order and Challenges to the State .................................... 127 3.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 127 3.2. Globalisation and the New World Order..................................................................... 128 3.2.1. The Concert of Europe ........................................................................................