Description
The UK is often seen in both academic and policy circles as a traditional unitary sovereign state (uni-sovereign). This uni-sovereign notion is reaffirmed throughout the Integrated Review 2021 and the 2023 Integrated Review Refresh. However, whilst security and defence remain reserved policies of the UK government, devolved nations hold significant policy competencies related to traditional and non-traditional security. For instance, devolved responses to the 2020 COVID pandemic and Scotland acting as a private sponsor for Ukrainian refugees evidence the key role that devolved executives play in UK security. Moreover, while Northern Ireland is consistently securitised, the integrated review does not even recognise the Stormont Government as a security actor in Northern Ireland. Addressing this gap, this article will compare the policy prescriptions of the Integrated Review 2021 and the 2023 Integrated Review Refresh to the policies of devolved nations to highlight how devolved nations function as security actors. Using the concept of post-colonial pluri-versal sovereignty, I aim to reintegrate devolved nations as key security partners to argue that intergovernmental relations are crucial in strengthening security and defence and building resilience at home and overseas. In doing so, I will challenge traditional colonial and supremacist notions of uni-sovereignty, unchallenged within UK Government.
