The Character of Unionism

This paper seeks to offer a critical examination of the existing literature on unionism in Northern Ireland. It contends that recent interpretations have typically failed to grasp fully the essential diversity of the unionist mind. In particular, commentators have proved content to overlook those se'cular and liberal impulses that inform the political imagination of modern unionism. The paper concludes with a brief discussion concerning how social scientists might arrive at a more faithful understanding of the character of unionism

The new world order of things

These are truly fearful dines that we are living through. In the United Nations, attempts to arrive at a diplomatic resolution of the crisis continue apace. The choreography of process serves little though to conceal the absolute certainty of outcome. The script of this war was crafted in Washington many months ago. In the next few days, the full military might of the world's sole remaining superpower will be unleashed on the beleaguered peoples of Iraq. As the regime of the erstwhile western client Saddam Hussein falls, the dawning of a new era of democracy will be hailed. With a compliant regime headed by the us military safely installed the cavalcade of American state terror will move on to bring untold horror on the benighted residents of some other misbegotten state. New world order, same old slaughter

The new world order of things

These are truly fearful dines that we are living through. In the United Nations, attempts to arrive at a diplomatic resolution of the crisis continue apace. The choreography of process serves little though to conceal the absolute certainty of outcome. The script of this war was crafted in Washington many months ago. In the next few days, the full military might of the world's sole remaining superpower will be unleashed on the beleaguered peoples of Iraq. As the regime of the erstwhile western client Saddam Hussein falls, the dawning of a new era of democracy will be hailed. With a compliant regime headed by the us military safely installed the cavalcade of American state terror will move on to bring untold horror on the benighted residents of some other misbegotten state. New world order, same old slaughter

From the ‘Long War’ to the ‘Long Peace’: An introduction to the special edition

In this introduction, we set out to provide the appropriate historical context for the nine essays that follow. The article documents all of the tortuous course that the Northern Irish peace process has taken over the last two decades, but its principal focus falls on the period in which the previously unlikely pairing of Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party agreed to share power at Stormont. While the coalition partners were often at odds over ethno-national issues such flags and parades, they frequently found common cause when it came to the introduction of distinctly neoliberal social and economic strategies. The decade in which the two parties shared office seemed to offer the prospect, finally, of stable government in Northern Ireland. At the beginning of 2017, however, the tensions between Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionists became insurmountable and led to the Stormont institutions being mothballed for a fifth time. Although often attributed to the introduction of a controversial green energy scheme in the six counties, the collapse of the power sharing executive owes its origins rather more to seismic political developments elsewhere in the United Kingdom. The outcome of the Brexit referendum has meant that Northern Ireland is now at the centre of a political storm that threatens/promises to usher in an era of radical constitutional change for the region

“What Is This, the Seventies?” Spectres of the Past (and the Future) in Recent Northern Irish Television

For all the gains made during its celebrated peace process, Northern Ireland remains haunted by a conflict that claimed more than 3,700 lives. One of the spaces in which the ghosts of the past manifest themselves is that of television drama. In this article, Mark Fisher’s reading of “hauntology” provides the theoretical frame for an analysis of two recent TV series set in Northern Ireland: The Fall and Derry Girls. Although the programs could not be more different in both tone and content, they both illustrate sharply that the region remains, in John Hewitt’s indelible phrase, a “ghost-haunted land.” In particular, The Fall and Derry Girls reveal that Northern Ireland continues to be deeply troubled both by those who were lost during the conflict and by that which was lost in the transition to peace

Learning to live with ghosts: spectres of “the Troubles” in contemporary Northern Irish cinema

That Northern Ireland remains profoundly troubled by its own violent past becomes readily apparent in many of the movies that have appeared since the Good Friday Agreement and not least those released since its tenth anniversary. In this article, I provide a broad sketch of recent Northern Irish cinema before moving to a close reading of two critically and commercially acclaimed features released in that period: Hunger (2008) and ’71 (2014). The discussion is framed by Mark Fisher’s reading of the Derridean notion of “hauntology” and focuses specifically on the idea that the spectre is a figure that is both retrospective and prospective. In their evocation of the ghosts of the Troubles, these movies offer an insight into a society that remains haunted both by the “no longer” of those who died during the conflict and also, perhaps, by the “not yet” of that which suffered a similar fate during the peace process that followed

The provision of agricultural services through self-help in Sub-Saharan Africa: A synthesis report for Phase I

The purpose of this research is to improve the understanding of governments, donors and non-government organisations (NGOs) of the role that farmer controlled enterprises (FCEs) can play in the provision of agricultural services to smallholders with commercial potential. The research combined desk studies and country visits to three Anglophone countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (Ghana, Uganda and Zimbabwe) and to two countries in Francophone Africa (Mali and Burkina Faso ). In conclusion we recommend that the promotion of FCEs be undertaken within a programme of rural enterprise development which has as its objective the creation of sustainable linkages between smallholders and the wider economy. Further research is recommended to address particular issues with regard to the design of such programmes including developing appropriate institutional mechanisms to link smallholders and the private sector, planning for the long term sustainability of programme activities and measuring their impact over time

‘Seismic’ or stalemate? The (bio)politics of the 2021 Northern Ireland Census

This article provides a critical reading of the 2021 Census of Population in Northern Ireland. A close examination of the available data on religion and nationality leads us to suggest that the Census provides a distorted portrait of Northern Irish society in two crucial, and connected, senses. First, the operation of the Census creates incentives for many residents to identify in ethnoreligious terms who might not ordinarily do so. Second, the forms of inter-communal competition generated by the decennial poll serve to obscure the degree of cultural diversity that exists in an increasingly secular society

Antimicrobial resistance to 14 antimicrobials in marine coastal waters around Northern Ireland: Use of the novel Relative Resistance Index as a marker of ecological status

Relatively little work has been published on the incidence of antibiotic resistance (ABR) in the marine microbiological environment, which is of importance to animal (fish, mammals, birds) health, zoonotic transmission, distribution of ABR bacteria with oceanic drift, and ultimately human health. A study was performed to determine the diversity of total ABR (intrinsic and acquired resistance) in marine bacteria in shallow coastal waters surrounding Northern Ireland through the use of a novel Relative Resistance Index (RRI) as a surrogate marker for ecological change, particularly in comparing marine water in commercial versus non-commercial sites. Total antibiotic resistance was observed to varying degrees in all marine water specimens and specific resistance levels were as follows, in order of diminishing antibacterial effectiveness: fluoroquinolones \u3e rifampicin \u3e polymyxin \u3e tetracycline \u3e sulphamethoxazole/trimethoprim \u3e third generation cephalosporin and streptomycin \u3e carbapenem \u3e macrolide \u3e clindamycin \u3e vancomycin \u3e fucidic acid \u3e penicillin. None of the sampling sites contained endogenous bacteria that were resistant to ciprofloxacin, while nearly all (19 of 20 sites; 95%) contained bacteria that were resistant to penicillin. Commercial sites had a higher mean RRI score of 6.57±3.58 than non-commercial sites (RRI = 4.08 ± 2.02), which was statistically significant (p = 0.037), indicating that bacteria isolated from seawater in commercial coastal harbors had a higher frequency of antibiotic resistance than non-commercial sources. This novel RRI marker may be useful in assessing ecological change in marine water environments. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that there can be a high level of total ABR (intrinsic and acquired) in bacterial populations in marine water environments, which are multi- and pan-resistant to up to 11 major classes of antibiotics simultaneously. Ecological studies are urgently needed to help define the fate of ABR marine bacteria in their natural environment and their ability to act as reservoirs and donors of ABR to pathogenic bacteria, many of which transiently inhabit the natural environment