Imagining the Economic Nation: The Scottish Case

The impending Scottish referendum on independence raises the question: what is a nation? This article addresses this question in terms of ‘economic nationhood’. Tracing the development of the Scottish economy over the last century and a half, it shows how the extraordinarily ‘globalised’ economy of pre‐1913 Scotland slowly evolved into a much more self‐reliant entity. Today, Scotland has a de‐industrialised and substantially de‐globalised economy, with a very large public sector about which key decisions are made in Edinburgh. Scotland has become much more of an economic ‘community of fate’ than ever before in its modern history.     

The Discipline of the New Democracy: Mrs Thatcher's Domestic Statecraft

Interpretations of the first Thatcher Administration can be divided crudely into two groups, those which divine some grand purpose and consistency in its operations, and those sceptical of any such conclusions. The former are concerned primarily with its ideas or ideology, the latter with its policies. This article adopts a different perspective. It stresses the need to examine the activities of party leaders in terms of their statecraft—namely the art of winning elections and, above all, achieving a necessary degree of governing competence in office. It suggests that this Administration aimed to achieve a governing competence by reconstructing traditional Conservative concerns with centre autonomy in matters of 'high polities'. This statecraft was consistently and successfully pursued, although some of the methods initially employed to buttress that autonomy had to be abandoned quickly.     

1992: THE ILLUSION OF CHANGE

Despite all the recent publicity surrounding the benefits of a 'Europe without frontiers' it would be wrong to assume that the attainment of this goal is a foregone conclusion. The 1992 deadline is a political expedient designed to create the impression that European economic integration is an irreversible process. However, the reality is that there is still a long way to go before Europe is truly 'open for business'. Barriers to trade will remain despite the enthusiasm of the Commission for radical change, because it is the member states who finally decide on the shape of new initiatives. In order to achieve agreement compromises have to be made, and this reduces the impact of reforms. The measures taken to complete that internal market of the EC can become exercises in harmonization rather than significant reforms which offer direct benefits to business. This article is concerned with one such exercise in harmonization, the introduction of the Single Administrative Document ( sad ).