Prospects for a Distinctly Scottish Planning in a Post-sovereign Age

Debates on the sovereignty of the State and the role of (sub-national) regions have moved on quickly in recent years spurred on by interest in the implications of globalization and (more recently) devolution. Reductionist perspectives on the 'death of State sovereignty' have given way to more balanced understandings that emphasize bottom-up and top-down influences upon State restructuring. Yet the impacts of a changing sovereignty upon policy areas are still largely unknown. This paper seeks to add to these debates and cast some light on potential influences upon and autonomy of the Scottish Parliament vis-à-vis land use planning. The paper argues that despite expectations of policy divergence from academics and practitioners the Scottish Parliament has taken a modest approach to land use planning which mirrors that in the rest of the UK. Yet, the reasons for this are only partly explained by the 'death of the State' theses. Significantly, there is evidence of an expectation of reduced sovereignty which has had an impact upon the anticipation of change. In addition, party political loyalty, ideology, the mechanics of the devolution settlement and the fragmented nature of sovereignty have driven the agenda for planning under the Scottish Parliament all of which point towards a further convergence.