A comparative critique of the practice of Irish neutrality in the 'unneutral' discourse

This article takes a comparative, empirical look at the practice of Irish neutrality during World War II. It critiques a model of neutrality presented in a thesis on Irish neutrality called Unneutral Ireland, consisting of factors derived from an analysis of three states regarded as well-established European neutrals—Austria, Sweden and Switzerland—that reflect the practice of neutrality. That model focused on the rights and duties of neutrality; the recognition of Ireland's status by belligerents and others; the disavowal of external help; and freedom of decision and action. This present article focuses on the factors flowing from these latter obligations that are cited in an analysis of the practice of Irish neutrality in the Unneutral thesis as proof of Ireland's 'unneutral' status, i.e. ideology; involvement in economic sanctions; partiality; the practice of Irish citizens joining the British army; and post-World War II factors such as Ireland's EEC membership. In this article, Ireland's practice of neutrality is evaluated against the practice of other European neutral states— Sweden, Switzerland, Austria and Finland (and also Norway's truncated practice of neutrality)—vis-à-vis the above variables. The article also deals with the perennial myths that crop up in 'unneutral' discourses on Irish neutrality, for example, the oftcited incidence of de Valera's alleged visit to the German legation in Ireland to sign a book of condolences on Hitler's death; and the suggestions of a British government offer of a deal on Northern Ireland in exchange for Ireland dropping its neutral stance and supporting the Allies in World War II. The article concludes that the practice of Irish neutrality is equivalent to or superior to the practice of other European neutral states, thus undermining the dominant discourse that Ireland's neutrality is a myth and that Ireland is 'unneutral'

The myth of 'the myth of Irish neutrality': deconstructing concepts of Irish neutrality using international relations theories

A number of academics, journalists and political elites claim that Irish neutrality is a 'myth', and many also characterise public support for Irish neutrality as 'confused' and 'nonrational'. This 'unneutral' discourse in the academic literature and mainstream Irish media is based on an academic thesis, that of an Unneutral Ireland. The Unneutral thesis constructs a particular concept of neutrality in order to draw its conclusion that Ireland is 'unneutral'. Using a poststructuralist approach--a rarity in the discipline of International Relations (IR)--this paper deconstructs concepts of Irish neutrality using a framework of IR theories. The results show that the concept of neutrality put forward in the Unneutral Ireland thesis and the dominant discourses on Irish neutrality are based on a hegemonic IR theory, the theory of neorealism, rather than on seemingly 'objective' scientific research methods. The paper concludes that non-realist theories and approaches may provide a better understanding of Irish neutrality and of the dynamics of public support for Irish neutrality

The Collapse Of An Empire? Rating Agency Reform In The Wake Of The 2007 Financial Crisis

In 1996, Thomas Friedman’s remarks echoed the sentiments of many. The rating agency business was booming, and it seemed like the agencies themselves could do no wrong

Life, the crocodile, the Pisikoa and the wind: representations of teaching in the writings of three pacific authors.

In the course of research involving the experiences of teachers of Pacific ancestry in New Zealand public schools, I became interested in the ways in which teachers were represented in Pacific thinking. Published works give relatively easy access to at least some of the patterns of thought evoked by the term teacher. In this paper I shall look at the kinds of teacher and teaching shown by Ruparuke Petaia, Albert Wendt and Sia Figiel. These authors, all confidently Samoan, portray some of the complexities of learning and teaching from within Samoan sensibilities. ÂLife", "the Crocodile", "the Pisikoa" and "the Wind" are all the names of teachers in this literature. My discussion of Kidnapped by Petaia (1974), Ola by Wendt (1991) and Where we once belonged by Figiel (1996) is not chronologically ordered so much as thematically arranged. The three themes are: decolonisation of education, the European teacher of Pasifika students and the Samoan teacher of Samoan students. Petaia presents a decolonising stance: the teacher as instrument of colonisation or enslavement. This perception is followed through by a discussion of Figiel's character, Siniva, who likewise rejects European knowledge as a form of darkness, and a brief reference to this idea by Wendt. Both Wendt and Figiel portray European teachers as arrogant in their assumptions about the universal nature of their knowledge, and as comic figures of enlightenment colonisation, somehow cut off from embodied human experience. Wendt sees the Samoan teacher as ineffectual, an instrument of a kind of hopeless enlightenment, frustrated by regulations and village traditions, while Fig iel sees her as a real presence in village life but a tragic figure of local ignorance

Pedagogy and subjectivity: Creating our own students.

Education students often expect that teacher education will teach them how to 'manage' their students. This expectation is founded upon a notion that the subjectivities of teacher and students are fixed and that it is, therefore, possible to 'know' what the students are like. Using Louis Althusser's notion of 'interpellation' this paper discusses how various theories of learning position teachers and students and can create different kinds of students (and teachers). If teachers can learn to manage their own thinking about the nature of their students, perhaps by learning a wide range of conceptual systems, they can in fact call different kinds of student into being