A Free Scotland? An Analysis of the SNP’s 2002 Draft Constitution for Scotland.

Bulmer, W. Elliot (2012) A Free Scotland? An Analysis of the SNP’s 2002 Draft Constitution for Scotland. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

In 2002, the Scottish National Party (SNP) published a draft Constitution for Scotland. Aside from its potential practical importance in the event of Scotland becoming independent, this draft Constitution is also of academic interest as an example of a written Constitution that is derived from, but which critiques and seeks to reform, the ‘Westminster’ model of democracy. This thesis subjects the SNP’s draft Constitution, for the first time, to a thorough, independent and scholarly review. It addresses the central question of whether the draft Constitution, if adopted, would be a viable and acceptable foundation for the constitutional order of a democratic Scottish State. Using a historical institutionalist approach, the thesis identifies the criteria of a viable and acceptable Constitution by reference to Scotland’s historical trajectory, the evolving global norms of constitutional democracy, and the circumstantial conditions of Scotland today. It then conducts a detailed examination of the draft Constitution, to assess how well the text embodies these criteria. The thesis finds that the SNP’s draft Constitution is viable and acceptable in its overall structure and principles, but that it is diminished by poor constitutional design and by an avoidable lack of attention to procedural detail.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Additional Information: Due to copyright restrictions the full text of this thesis cannot be made available online. Access to the printed version is available once any embargo periods have expired.
• Keywords: Constitution, Scotland, SNP, Westminster, Democracy
• Subjects: K Law > K Law (General); J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General)
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
• Supervisor's Name: Thornhill, Prof. Christopher and Lundberg, Dr. Thomas
• Date of Award: 2012
• Depositing User: MR William Elliot Bulmer
• Unique ID: glathesis:2012-3791
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 06 Dec 2012
• Last Modified: 14 Dec 2012 14:53
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/3791