论1707年苏格兰与英格兰的联合——从戴雪到波考克的解释

On the 1707 Union of Scotland and England——From the Explanation of Dicey to Pocock

1707年苏格兰与英格兰联合这一历史事件,可以展示内部非均质、有王朝传统的帝国如何实现现代主权意义上的"统一",以及这种"统一"所遭遇的理论和现实挑战。20世纪,针对该联合出现了三种不同的分析框架:第一种将联合视为最高政治权威确立其统治范围和方式的政治行动,行动本身确认了帝国及其最高统治权的存在;第二种则依赖拥有自然权利的个体建立契约国家的逻辑,将联合理解成两个主权国家之间的联盟或一个主权国家的建立;第三种从商业社会的角度消解了联合的政治意义,并尝试超越一个主权、一个中心来重构不列颠的历史。这三种解释框架及其关联中,"什么是英国"这一问题也显现出了不同的答案。

The historical event of the Union of England and Scotland in 1707could be used to show the process of unifying an empire which has heterogeneous parts within its sphere and lasts through dynasties,and to clarify the theoretical and practical challenges of forming one modern sovereignty.In the 20th century,there are three main frames to analyze this event.The first one regards the 1707 Union as the political action which established the supreme authority and its sphere to rule,which itself symbolized the existence of the empire and its imperium;the second one depends on the logic of forming a nation state through social contract,which is based on the foundation of the natural right of individuals;the last one dilutes the political significance of the 1707 Union via the horizon of commercial society,and also tries to reconstitute a history of Britain which transcends the premises of one sovereignty,one center.Having expounded those views,the different answers of"what is United Kingdom"shall also be exhibited.