Sub-states in transition: changing patterns of EU paradiplomacy in Scotland and Wales, 1992–2021

Abstract

This article sheds new light on the dynamics of Scottish and Welsh relations with the European Union (EU). We analyse the development of Scotland and Wales’s ‘paradiplomacy’ over a 30-year period (1992–2021), offering the first comprehensive analysis of the EU-focused activities of sub-states transitioning out of the EU. We identify the significance of the interplay between a territory’s formal constitutional position and differences in party politics across levels of government in shaping paradiplomacy. Increasing tensions between the UK and devolved governments regarding the UK’s EU withdrawal have reinforced conflict dynamics, including in the context of growing protodiplomacy from the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) government.