Description
While foreign policy is a reserved matter for Westminster, it is clear that the Scottish government aspires to, and indeed has implemented, an expanding programme of independent external relations. It is not the first sub-state political actor to do so. Whether as a part of the UK, or as potentially an independent country, Scotland has put considerable effort into developing its soft power (to the extent that it has a soft power team in the government). One area in particular where this has occurred is in human rights, where it has demonstrated leadership on a number of issues, such as women in conflict, business and human rights, and the development of an exemplar national human rights institution. This paper will examine the dynamics of this development, looking at both the constraints and the possibilities for Scotland as an international human rights actor.
