Politics happens not only between Ireland, Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom, but across them as well. There is a British-Irish and an Irish-British politics, along with growing relationships between state and political actors in Scotland, Wales and parts of England with their counterparts in Ireland North and South. Such relations are built into the three-stranded … [Read more...] about Political change across Britain and Ireland (2)
Northern Ireland
Reclaim the Enlightenment
On the face of it ‘These are the Times that Try Men’s Souls’ may seem an entirely apt title for an address in times when there are so many reasons why we might despair. It was a phrase famously used by Thomas Paine in his pamphlet The American Crisis published in 1776 when the colonists were indeed facing defeat in their struggle for independence, but the pamphlet helped … [Read more...] about Reclaim the Enlightenment
Devolution returns to Northern Ireland
Two years after the Democratic Unionist Party put the institutions of the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement into suspension by withdrawing from them, those institutions returned, and devolved government exists in Northern Ireland again, headed by a Sinn Féin First Minister. The history of the dispute has been set out on this blog and a recent Constitution Unit podcast. … [Read more...] about Devolution returns to Northern Ireland
What’s the Orange Order’s future?
Today, across Northern Ireland, thousands of Orange Men will be parading for the 12th of July commemorations. But what is the future of the loyal orders? Like most institutions, their numbers have been declining. From a high point of 90,000 in the 1960s to 34,000 in 2012, I suspect the figure for active members today is more like 20,000. What is the place of the Orange Order … [Read more...] about What’s the Orange Order’s future?
Sinn Fein surge and the border
Forget everything you know about Irish politics (this might not be asking much of even some of the UK’s most seasoned political commentators). The rules have, seemingly, been entirely rewritten by a seismic election which rocked Ireland’s political system. Bucking its historic tendency to underperform on election day relative to its pre-election polling, Sinn Féin emerged … [Read more...] about Sinn Fein surge and the border