Governing Scotland: the invention of administrative devolution

'Governing Scotland' explores the origins and development of the Scottish Office in an attempt to understand Scotland's position within the UK union state in the 20th century. Two competing views were encapsulated in debates on how Scotland should be governed in the early 20th century: a Whitehall view that emphasized a professional bureaucracy with power centred on London and a Scottish view that emphasized the importance of Scottish national sentiment. These views were ultimately reconciled in 'administrative devolution'.