This first of a major two-part volume on devolution, this meets the need for a comprehensive analysis of the formative years of devolution in the UK from the years 1997-2007. Providing a refreshing, rigorous re-examination of the period that traces territorial politics from initial settlements in Scotland and Wales and the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, Bradbury uses a novel framework for analysis to set a significant new agenda for thinking and research on devolution.