Northern Irish Politics and Society
This course provides an overview of Northern Irish politics and society since the contested partition of the island of Ireland in 1921. It focuses on some of the major events in the region’s history, notably the civil rights movement of the Catholic/nationalist community in the 1960s, the 30-year violent conflict known as the Troubles, including Bloody Sunday, the republican hungerstrikes, and the 1998 peace deal (Good Friday Agreement). Despite the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent St Andrew’s Agreement of 2006, the two major communities or ‘traditions’ within Northern Ireland, nationalists (mainly Catholic) and unionists (mainly Protestant) continue to live in a largely polarised society: peace brokered at the elite level has not translated into a breakdown of segregation and a coming-together at grass-roots level. The impact of Brexit on Northern Irish politics and the economy will also be discussed. The course examines the interconnections between politics, identity and territory and will conclude by looking at the forces in favour of – and obstacles to – reunification of the 32 counties of Ireland.
This course provides an overview of Northern Irish politics and society since the contested partition of the island of Ireland in 1921. It focuses on some of the major events in the region’s history, notably the civil rights movement of the Catholic/nationalist community in the 1960s, the 30-year violent conflict known as the Troubles, including Bloody Sunday, the republican hungerstrikes, and the 1998 peace deal (Good Friday Agreement). Despite the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent St Andrew’s Agreement of 2006, the two major communities or ‘traditions’ within Northern Ireland, nationalists (mainly Catholic) and unionists (mainly Protestant) continue to live in a largely polarised society: peace brokered at the elite level has not translated into a breakdown of segregation and a coming-together at grass-roots level. The impact of Brexit on Northern Irish politics and the economy will also be discussed. The course examines the interconnections between politics, identity and territory and will conclude by looking at the forces in favour of – and obstacles to – reunification of the 32 counties of Ireland.
- Múinteoir: Lesley Lelourec