Schrodinger’s devolution and the potential for ongoing political instability after Brexit

Territorial governance in the UK has taken the form of ‘Schrodinger’s devolution’, where the devolved nations both have and have not experienced fundamental constitutional change. But Brexit highlights the need for exact decisions where ambiguity has so far existed, explain Mark Sandford and Cathy Gormley-Heenan

Working Group on Unification Referendums on the Island of Ireland: Interim Report

The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement of 1998 provides for the possibility of future referendums on the question of whether Northern Ireland should remain in the United Kingdom or become part of a united Ireland. It sets out some of the principles that such votes would need to follow, but it leaves many aspects of the process unclear or unspecified. How would the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland decide whether to call a referendum? Would a vote also be needed in the Republic of Ireland? Would referendums north and south need to be simultaneous? Would they best take place before or after detailed proposals for the form of a united Ireland had been worked out? Who should be able to vote? What should the question on the ballot paper be? How would the referendum campaigns be conducted? This interim report explores possible answers to these and other questions, and sets out the provisional conclusions of the Working Group on Unification Referendums on the Island of Ireland. The Working Group has no collective view on whether such referendums should take place or what the outcome should be if a vote is called. The Group does not see referendums on this subject as imminent. But they could happen in the future. And thinking through in advance what that would involve is vitally important

Government of the UK and Ireland

The module is designed to provoke thought, challenge preconceptions, stimulate questions about the nature of government in the UK and Ireland. Thus, it considers key concepts such as political culture, socialisation, devolution, and governance. This module aims to provoke thought, challenge preconceptions, stimulate questions and to nourish inquisitive minds more than to provide a set diet of ready-made `answers'. What are the contextual parameters within which modern government functions? What is the political culture within British and Irish society and what is the role of the media? What is the appropriate spatial distribution of governmental power, i.e. the territorial dimension? Inevitably, the issues raised by these questions make for argument and introduce conflicting interpretations. The module promotes familiarity with the alternative perspectives advanced on these questions as a foundation to a more sophisticated and systematic treatment subsequently.

Public policy

The aim of this module is to further our understanding of public policy – the nature, causes and effects of public policies; the policy process – how policy is made; and with prescription as to how policy might be improved. Since the effectiveness of policies and policy-making processes cannot be assessed independently of analysis of the distribution of economic and political power within political systems, this module also examines the central position of the state in policy analysis.

The Northern Ireland ‘Culture Wars’ Symposium Report: November 2013

On 22nd November 2013, the Political Studies Association Britishness Specialist Group organised a symposium on the theme of Northern Ireland’s ‘culture wars’ at the University of Ulster campus in Belfast. The symposium highlighted multiple dimensions of a Northern Irish ‘culture war’, from debates based concerning expressions of communal identity (such as flags, parades, and dealing with the past) to those centred on social issues and the pace of societal change, such as abortion, marriage equality and multiculturalism. Based on the day’s events, the report provides an overview of the proceedings and also makes a number of policy recommendations for politicians and others involved in the progressive development of civil society in Northern Ireland. Chief among these are the need to provide better opportunities for Northern Ireland’s most disadvantaged communities to engage and deliberate their shared future. Contributors to the symposium were unified in their recognition of the urgent need for policy-makers to ensure the provision of safe spaces for young people in particular to express their opinions, aspirations and grievances. To ensure equality of citizenship, the report also urges the Northern Ireland Attorney General to consider the potential legal implications of the disparity in access to services and legal protections for citizens of Northern Ireland against those available in the rest of the United Kingdom. Moreover there is a need for politicians and policy-makers to address the pressing question of a racial equality strategy in Northern Ireland. The symposium was kindly funded by the Political Studies Association together with the University of Huddersfield and the University of Ulster. The project team are happy to discuss the development of this research project and policy recommendations. Please contact Dr Shaun McDaid at [email protected]