The Political Dynamics of Sub-State Regionalisation: A Neo-Functionalist Perspective and the Case of Devolution in the UK

Abstract

The article seeks to contribute to theoretical analysis of sub-state regionalisation, particularly as applied to the study of its principal history-making developments. It argues that cross-fertilising the classic neo-functionalist perspective on European supranational regionalisation offers a profitable basis for development. The article clarifies its conceptual categories, adapting to take account of the sub-state context, and then applies the approach to devolution in the UK. Reference to this case seeks to confirm the utility of the perspective, and in the process offers a novel framework for clarifying the common and distinctive political dynamics of devolution across the UK.