Devolution in Wales between Capacity and Constraint

Abstract

Cole and Stafford provide a timely examination of territorial governance and political capacity within the context of economic crisis and political change. The chapter examines the core research question: are contemporary European states — subject to powerful and converging economic, ideational and institutional pressures — driven to enforce new forms of territorial convergence? Focussing on the case of Wales, the chapter introduces the material and constructed dimensions of territorial governance and political capacity in order to provide a multi-dimensional analysis. As well as providing this analytical framework, Cole and Stafford examine the development of devolution in Wales since its introduction in 1999 and place these devolved governance arrangements within the wider comparative context.