School of Social and Political Science

Background

Qualifications

• PhD Politics (Sheffield)
• MA Political Science (Western Ontario, Canada)
• BA (Hons) Politics and Philosophy (Strathclyde)

Biographical statement

Nicola has been at Edinburgh University since 2001, first as Lecturer, then Senior Lecturer in 2006, and as Professor of Territorial Politics from 2014. She was founding Co-Director of the Centre on Constitutional Change, where she remains a Research Fellow. Nicola recently completed a Senior Research Fellowship with the ESRC UK in a Changing Europe, having previously been Principal Investigator of one of its prestigious Brexit Priority Grants. Her project, entitled A Family of Nations? Brexit, Devolution and the Union, explored intergovernmental relations in UK-EU negotiations, and the implications of Brexit for devolution and the future of the Union. From 2019-2022, Nicola was Research Fellow in a major ESRC-funded project, Between Two Unions: The Constitutional Future of the Islands after Brexit, where she led the research strand charting the evolution of intergovernmental relations. 

Nicola has published widely in the field of territorial politics, nationalism, multi-level government and policy-making, and multi-level parties and elections. She is actively involved in informing debate within the wider policy and political community, through with extensive experience in providing analysis in broadcast, print and social media, public engagement, advice to governments and parliamentary committees, and consultancy.

Nicola supervises a wide range of Research Masters and PhD students exploring nationalism, devolution, constitutional change, multi-level government and policy, electoral politics and party politics.

Recent journal articles and book chapters

'Irreconcilable sovereignties? Brexit and Scottish self-government', Territory, Politics, Governance, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1080/21622671.2022.2044898

‘Sleeping with an elephant: Devolution and the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020’ Law Quarterly Review, 2022 (with Michael Dougan, Jo Hunt and Aileen McHarg). https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/publications/sleeping-with-an-elephant…

‘The Limits of Self Rule without Shared Rule’, in Requejo F and M Sanjaume-Calvet (eds), Defensive Federalism: Tackling the Two Faces of the Territorial Tyranny of the Majority. A Revised Federal Institutional Design, Routledge, 2022

‘Brexit and the union: Territorial voice, exit and re-entry strategies in Scotland and Northern Ireland after EU exit’. International Political Science Review (with Mary C Murphy), 2022, vol.43, no. 3, 374-389. doi:10.1177/0192512121990543

‘The Trade Policies of Brexit Britain: the Influence of and Impacts on the Devolved Nations’, European Review of International Studies (with David Eiser and Graeme Roy), 2021, vol.8: 22-48, doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/21967415-bja10034

‘Los conflictos de soberanía nacional: hacia una respuesta Europea más eficaz’, Almeda, P (ed), Cataluña-España. ¿Del conflict al diálogo politico?, 2021, Barcelona, Generalitat de Catalunya.

‘Embedded Independence: Self-Government and Interdependence in the Scottish National Movement’ (with Coree Brown Swan), in Lecours, A, et al. Constitutional Politics in Multinational Democracies., McGill-Queens University Press, 2021

‘Negotiating Brexit: Power Dynamics in British Intergovernmental Relations’, Regional Studies, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2020.1735000

'Intergovernmental Relations in the UK: Time for a Radical Overhaul?' (with Mike Kenny, Jack Sheldon and Coree Brown Swan), The Political Quarterly, 2020, Vol 91/3, https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-923X.12862

'L’autonomie écossaise et le Brexit: deux projets d’autodétermination en collision?', in Levrat, N, D Sidjanski and F Saint-Ouen (eds), L’Union européenne et les nationalismes régionaux (with Alexandra Remond), Publications du Centre de compétences Dusan Sidjanski en études européennes, 2020

‘How to conceptualise energy law and policy for an interdisciplinary audience: The case of post-Brexit UK’, (with Paul Cairney, Aileen McHarg and Karen Turner), Energy Policy, 129, June, 2019, 459-66

‘Brexit and Scotland: between two unions’, British Politics, 2018, Vol 13/1: 65-78

Reforming Intergovernmental Relations in the United Kingdom (with Mike Kenny, Jack Sheldon and Coree Brown Swan), Centre on Constitutional Change, 2018

‘Inequality, Redistribution and Decentralization in Canada and the United Kingdom’ (with Keith Banting), in Keating, M and G Laforest, Constitutional Politics and the Territorial Question in Canada and the United Kingdom Federalism and Devolution Compared (Springer, 2018)

‘Still Better Together? Purpose and Power in Intergovernmental Councils in the UK’, Regional and Federal Studies vol.27/5, 2017: 667-69

‘Welfare: Contesting communities of solidarity’, in Keating, M (ed), Debating Scotland: Issues of Independence and Union in the 2014 Referendum (OUP, 2017)

‘Beyond the Referendum’ (with Michael Keating), in Debating Scotland, 2017

‘The Scottish Independence Debate’ (with Michael Keating), in Debating Scotland. 2017

‘Towards a Fairer Scotland? Assessing the Prospects and Implications of Social Security Devolution’, in Keating, M (ed), A Wealthier, Fairer Scotland: The Political Economy of Constitutional Change (EUP, 2017)

‘A Constitution in Flux: The Dynamics of Constitutional Change after the Referendum’, in Walker, et al., The Scottish independence referendum: constitutional and political implications (OUP, 2016).

‘Between Autonomy and Interdependence: The Challenges of Shared Rule after the Scottish Referendum’ (with Bettina Petersohn), in The Political Quarterly. 86, 2, 2015, 192-200

‘Empowered for Action? Capacities and constraints in sub-state government climate action in Scotland and Wales’ (with Elin Royles), in Environmental Politics, vol 24, 6, 2015, p1034-1054

‘Regions as Primary Political Communities: A multi-level comparative analysis of turnout in regional elections’ (with Ailsa Henderson), in Publius. 45, 2, 2015, p.189-215

‘Constitutional dynamics and partisan conflict: A comparative assessment of multi-level systems in Europe’ (with Wilfried Swenden and Nicole Bolleyer), in Comparative European Politics. 12, 4-5, 2014, p.531-555

‘UK Devolution in the Shadow of Hierarchy: Intergovernmental Relations and Party Politics’ (with Wilfried Swenden), in Comparative European Politics, 12, 4-5, 2014, p488–509

‘Sub-State Climate Pioneers: A case study of Scotland’s energy and climate change programme’, (with Elizabeth Bomberg) Regional and Federal Studies vol 24, 1, 2014: p.63-85

‘Energy Policy, Nationalism and Scottish Independence’, in G Hassan and J Mitchell (eds), After Independence: The State of the Scottish National Debate, 2014 (Luath Press)

‘The UK: Multi-level Elections in an Asymmetrical State’, in Dandoy, R. & Schakel, A. (eds.) Regional and National Elections in Western Europe: Territoriality of the Vote in Thirteen Countries, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013, p.254-274

'Mobilising community energy' (with Elizabeth Bomberg), Energy Policy, vol.51, 2012, p.435-444

'A comparative analysis of voter turnout in regional elections' (with Ailsa Henderson), Electoral Studies, 29, 3, 2010

Books and special issues

Scotland’s new choice: Independence after Brexit. (with Eve Hepburn and Michael Keating) Edinburgh: Centre on Constitutional Change (CCC), 2020

Constitutional dynamics and partisan conflict: A comparative assessment of multi-level systems in Europe (with Nicole Bolleyer, Wilfried Swenden), 2014, Special Issue of Comparative European Politics. 12, 4-5 

Governments in Opposition? Intergovernmental Relations in the UK in a Context of Party Political Incongruence (with Wilfried Swenden and Nicole Bolleyer). Special issue of British Journal of Politics and International Relations, vol.14, no.2, 2012.

The Territorial Politics of Welfare (Routledge/ECPR Studies in European Political Science, 2009)

Revolution or Evolution? The 2007 Scottish Elections (with John Curtice, David McCrone, Michael Marsh and Rachel Ormiston), Edinburgh University Press, 2009

Nationalism and the State: Welfare and Identity in Scotland and Quebec. Regionalism and Federalism Book Series. Presses interuniversitaires europennes/Peter Lang, 2006.

Devolution and Public Policies (with Michael Keating) (Taylor and Francis, 2006)