| When New Labour came into power in1997, the United Kingdom began the process of devolution which transferred some powers of Westminster parliament to elected regional parliaments. The process of regionalisation, which was a watershed in the British political development, changed the characteristics of the unitary state. This dissertation focuses on and analyses that great political change in Britain. It studies contemporary British politics in a broader European context, and attempts to show how the trend of European thought have influenced the British political development.The first chapter discusses the emergence of multi-level governance in the process of European integration, which observes the future of Europe from regional perspective. Britain, as a member of European Union, was profoundly influenced by that concept. It was also affected by the experience of other European countries, and eventually began the process of devolution.The second chapter analyses the choice of devolution. The Labour Party has been out of power for many years. In order to defeat the Conservative Party in General Election, it endeavored to alter its impression, reformed its organization, and drawn up hopeful reform objectives. Devolution was one of its main policies. When New Labour came into power, it opened the process of regionalisation. Devolution got its legitimacy from referendum. Then, the devolution acts was passed and the devolved governments gained asymmetrical powers.The third chapter discusses the post-devolution Scottish political development. In the1999/2003Scottish parliament elections, Scottish Labour Party did not get half the seats, but the most. It controlled Scottish political situation by co-cabinet. SNP lost its seats because it did not quickly find its position in the post-devolution Scotland. In2004, Alex Salmond was reelected as the leader of SNP. He led it to pursuit independence. In2007, SNP held power. It aggravated the acentric tendency. The Scottish political development shows devolution cannot relieve Scottish acentric emotion. On the contrary, it partly becomes the stepping-stone for independence.The fourth chapter discusses the post-devolution Welsh political development. Unlike Scotland, Wales did not enthuse over the devolution cause. It had not such great uncertainty. The Welsh Labour Party has taken the helm since1999. This strengthened the stability of Welsh politics. However, Wales also pursues more power and enhances women's political participation. Thus, it shows 'softness' in the post-devolution Welsh politics.The fifth chapter discusses Northern Ireland's peace process. Northern Ireland was a profoundly divided society, and some parties appealed to arms. In the peace process, the key step was to demilitarize and move toward political normalization. But demilitarization was great difficult. It tested the process of devolution and peace. The devolution of Northern Ireland suspended four times. However, under the international pressure, the political parties finally gave up violence, and achieved social stability by election and negotiation. In the process of political normalization, the explicit confrontation between parties of Northern Ireland gradually transformed into implicit contest which appeared polarization.The sixth chapter discusses the devolution of England. England was bewildered when other regions established their parliaments and won some powers. The devolution of England was a top-down political arrangement. In the first New Labour government, every region of England set up a Regional Development Agency. New Labour intended to carry on devolution in its second government. Given that most regions lacked enthusiasm for elected regional assemblies, New Labour decided to implement devolution in the northern regions. But the Northeast vetoed in the referendum. It suspended the process of regionalisation in England. After the Northeast veto, the concept of city-region emerged. This is a bottom-up campaign, but its force still needs further development. The seventh chapter analyses the multi-relationship in between Regions, UK and Europe. In term of the relationship between the Regions and UK, it is experiencing a shift from traditional 'central-local' relationship to 'central-regional-local' three-level relationship. Regions has become the center of new governance, they are exacerbating acentric tendency. As for the relationship between UK and European, New Labour actively pursued the leadership in Europe in the beginning. However, the Anglo-American relationship reinforced after the September11. It changed the priority of British foreign policy. Under the domestic euroskepticism, UK became a leader from edge. When it comes to the relationship between the Regions and Europe, they seemed to have discovered the common points. Europe wishes to pursue its dream through the Regions, and the Regions hope their political ambitions come true through Europe.The eighth chapter analyses the characteristics of the process of the regionalisation, its influences and the future of Britain. Nomocracy is the internal characteristic of British regionalisation, and asynchrony is the external characteristic. Its dynamic is from the bottom. Moreover, it reflects the preference of Europe. The process of Regionalisation has great impact on Britain. It has resulted in the change of constitution and identity, which are remaking the British politics and bringing great uncertainty to the UK. In the future, British political transformation will mainly depend on Scottish choices. Whether continue to develop in the framework of devolution or out, it will lie on Scottish independence referendum in2014. After all, in the contemporary British politics, the power of public opinion is infinite.The original intention of devolution was to strengthen the cohesion of British nations, but it caused many problems. Unlike New Labour's original project, it increases the acentric forces instead of strengthening the Union.
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