Module Identifier IPM6330  
Module Title POST-DEVOLUTION POLITICS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM  
Academic Year 2002/2003  
Co-ordinator Miss Rebecca M Jones  
Semester Intended for use in future years  
Next year offered N/A  
Next semester offered N/A  
Course delivery Seminars / Tutorials   Seminar. 1 x 2 hours per week  
Assessment Semester Exam   3 Hours   50%  
  Semester Assessment   Essay:   50%  
  Supplementary Exam   Students may, subject to Faculty approval, have the opportunity to resit this module, normally during the supplementary examination period. For further clarification please contact the Teaching Programme Administrator in the Department of International Politics.    

Learning outcomes

On completion of the module, students will be able to:

- develop a critical understanding of the new constitutional arrangements in the constituent parts of the UK, and analyse and evaluate the relationship between them.
- provide a detailed and comparative account of the impact of devolution on the constitution and politics of the United Kingdom
- critically evaluate the broader theoretical concepts inherent in the debate, including: sovereignty, federalism, Europe, independence, self-government and national identity.

Aims

The aim of the module is to locate devolution and political developments in Wales within their broader British and European context. Adopting a comparative approach, the module will facilitate a broader understanding of the newly devolved bodies with the UK, their relationship with each other and with Westminster and Whitehall, and the implications of devolution for British, European and World Politics. The module will evaluate the practical and theoretical problems and challenges that constitutional reform and devolution pose to the future of the British state.

The module will begin with an evaluation of each of the different constitutional settlements in the constituent parts of the UK, before moving on to critically analyse contemporary inter-governmental relations with the UK. The module will then approach some of the key theoretical questions raised by this radical overhaul of the British constitution, before finally moving on to discuss reactions and attitudes towards devolution and constitutional change, as well as posing questions for the future of the politics of devolution in the United Kingdom and beyond.