The prospects for Northern Ireland’s power-sharing democracy look bleak. A Citizens’ Assembly is planned for members of the public to deliberate on the disputed topics. Claire Pierson and Jennifer Thomson argue that these forms of public participation have a particular benefit for the representation of women, and has the potential to break down entrenched party political divides

Pierson, Claire

Thomson, Jennifer

English

LSE Research Online

Gender	and	power-sharing	–	why	a	Citizens’Assembly	is	needed	in	Northern	IrelandThe	prospects	for	Northern	Ireland’s	power-sharing	democracy	look	bleak.	A	Citizens’	Assembly	is	planned	formembers	of	the	public	to	deliberate	on	the	disputed	topics.	Claire	Pierson	and	Jennifer	Thomson	argue	thatthese	forms	of	public	participation	have	a	particular	benefit	for	the	representation	of	women,	and	has	the	potentialto	break	down	entrenched	party	political	divides.	Girl	at	an	anti-DUP	protest,	2017.	Picture:	Tim	Dennell,	via	(CC	BY-NC	2.0)Northern	Irish	politics	is	experiencing	one	of	its	most	tumultuous	periods	for	decades.	The	issue	of	the	borderbetween	Northern	Ireland	and	the	Republic	has	proven	to	be	an	intractable	point	in	the	negotiations	around	theUK’s	exit	from	the	European	Union.	Pro-Brexit	Westminster	MPs	are	calling	for	the	Good	Friday	Agreement	to	bemodified	or	replaced	entirely.	The	devolved	institutions	in	Belfast	remain	suspended,	with	talks	between	the	majorparties	to	re-establish	devolved	governance	dramatically	falling	apart	at	the	11th	hour.There	is	an	increasing	understanding	that	formal	politics	in	Northern	Ireland	is	running	out	of	ideas.	Stormont	hasbeen	suspended	now	for	over	a	year.	With	the	DUP	supporting	the	Conservative	government,	there	is	little	chanceof	reconciliation	between	the	major	parties,	and	political	compromise	on	key	issues	(especially	around	the	issue	ofthe	Irish	language	act)	appears	impossible.	Twenty	years	after	the	Good	Friday	Agreement,	the	optimism	that	leadto	that	historic	peace	agreement	is	lacking	in	Northern	Irish	politics	today.This	is	a	key	moment	therefore,	to	think	about	how	some	energy	might	be	reinjected	into	politics	in	the	region.	Oneproposed	way	of	doing	so	are	the	recent	plans	announced	to	establish	a	Citizens’	Assembly	in	Northern	Ireland.The	Assembly	will	be	formed	of	99	individuals	and	one	Chairperson,	carefully	selected	from	the	Northern	Irishelectoral	roll	to	ensure	parity	of	representation	with	regards	to	the	make-up	of	Northern	Irish	society.	It	will	meet	atweekends	to	consider	specific	topics	on	which	expert	witnesses	will	present	evidence.	The	charity	Building	ChangeTrust	is	funding	the	project	through	the	Northern	Irish	think	tank	Involve.The	Assembly	is	being	designed	along	very	similar	lines	to	a	Citizens’	Assembly	currently	running	in	the	Republic	ofIreland.	The	Assembly	in	the	Republic	has	been	asked	to	deliberate	on	several	key	issues,	including	abortion,	andits	support	for	liberalising	laws	on	terminations	provided	key	encouragement	for	the	Irish	government	to	call	areferendum	on	the	issue.Democratic Audit: Gender and power-sharing – why a Citizens’ Assembly is needed in Northern Ireland Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-03-21Permalink: https://www.democraticaudit.com/2018/03/21/gender-and-power-sharing-why-a-citizens-assembly-is-needed-in-northern-ireland/Blog homepage: https://www.democraticaudit.com/Whilst	the	body	will	have	no	legislative	or	political	powers,	it	will	provide	a	space	for	ordinary	people	to	cometogether	to	deliberate	on	key	issues	–	which	is	especially	important	in	an	environment	where	formal	politics	havebecome	so	immobile.	Indeed,	such	a	move	towards	a	more	deliberative	form	of	democracy	is	not	unprecedented	inNorthern	Ireland.	Within	the	Good	Friday	Agreement	a	provision	was	put	in	place	for	a	Civic	Forum	of	local	NGOsand	civil	society	bodies	which	was	intended	to	be	a	consultative	body	for	the	Northern	Irish	Assembly	at	Stormont.Following	the	suspension	of	the	devolved	governance	in	2002,	the	Civic	Forum	was	never	re-established.In	recent	research,	we	argue	that	there	are	additional	gendered	benefits	to	a	political	framework	which	allows	formore	deliberative	types	of	democracy	such	as	this.	Whilst	women	lead	three	of	the	dominant	political	parties	inNorthern	Ireland,	and	women’s	representation	in	the	Assembly	stands	very	close	to	Westminster	at	30%,	this	hasnot	led	to	substantive	consideration	of	gender	policy	issues	in	the	region.	Discussions	on	abortion	are	permeatedwith	conservative	and	anti-choice	rhetoric,	rates	of	domestic	and	sexual	violence	are	rising	in	the	region	but	policyon	these	issues	is	stagnant	with	little	in	particular	being	done	to	provide	reparation	for	historical	sexual	abuse.Within	the	arenas	of	peace-building	and	dealing	with	legacies	of	the	past,	women’s	voices	are	visible	by	theirabsence	–	with	the	most	recent	body	set	up	by	Stormont,	the	‘Flags,	Identity,	Culture	andTradition’	Commission	including	14	men	and	only	one	woman.Yet	Northern	Ireland	has	long	had	a	dynamic	and	sizeable	women’s	sector,	both	before	and	after	the	Good	FridayAgreement.	Building	more	deliberative	types	of	structure	into	Northern	Irish	politics,	either	through	a	new	CivicForum,	the	Citizens’	Assembly,	or	both,	would	be	a	key	way	in	which	to	get	more	women’s	voices	into	publicdiscussion	and	to	highlight	women’s	issues	more	prominently	in	public	debate.	Arenas	such	as	these	provide	aninformed,	participative	and	deliberative	form	of	democracy	less	hampered	by	the	traditional	confines	and	binaries	ofNorthern	Irish	politics.	The	results	and	discussions	of	such	forums	can	provide	legitimacy	for	politicians	to	suggestlegislative	change.	This	can	be	clearly	illustrated	in	the	Irish	example,	with	the	calling	of	a	referendum	for	May	2018on	a	constitutional	clause	on	abortion	which	has	been	in	place	since	1983.Citizens’	forums	can	also	show	that	politics	can	look	differently	from	the	shape	that	it	has	conventionally	taken	inNorthern	Ireland.	The	peace	process,	from	the	Good	Friday	Agreement,	through	the	St	Andrew’s	day	agreementand	the	more	recent	Stormont	House	agreement,	has	been	dominated	by	party	politics	and	formal	political	actors.Increasingly,	ordinary	people	have	been	left	out	of	key	political	decision-making.	A	Citizens’	Assembly	wouldillustrate	that	normal	individuals	can	play	a	role	in	decisions	that	affect	them,	and	that	politics	extends	beyondparties,	elections	and	Stormont.The	current	political	climate	in	Northern	Ireland	is	bleak.	Yet	the	chance	to	create	a	new	forum	for	politicaldiscussion	in	the	region	offers	a	key	opportunity	both	to	move	beyond	this	political	impasse	and	to	provide	a	way	toinclude	a	wider	range	of	people’s	voices	and	opinions	in	public	debate.This	article	represents	the	views	of	the	authors	and	not	those	of	Democratic	Audit.About	the	authors	Jennifer Thomson	is	a	lecturer	in	Comparative	Politics	at	the	University	of	Bath	and	Co-Convener	of	the	PSA	Women	and	Politics	Specialist	Group.	Claire	Pierson	is	a	lecturer	in	politics	at	the	University	of	Liverpool.			Similar	PostsBedding	down,	treading	water	and	taking	two	steps	forward:	gender	equality	and	the	2019–20	House	ofCommons	select	committee	electionsFemale	parliamentarians	still	face	a	motherhood	penalty,	but	the	evidence	globally	suggests	it	can	be	endedWhat	can	political	parties	do	to	involve	more	women	in	party	politics?Democratic Audit: Gender and power-sharing – why a Citizens’ Assembly is needed in Northern Ireland Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-03-21Permalink: https://www.democraticaudit.com/2018/03/21/gender-and-power-sharing-why-a-citizens-assembly-is-needed-in-northern-ireland/Blog homepage: https://www.democraticaudit.com/NHS	Citizen	and	what	it	tells	us	about	designing	democratic	innovations	as	deliberative	systemsCitizens	(mistakenly)	perceive	female-led	political	parties	as	more	moderateDemocratic Audit: Gender and power-sharing – why a Citizens’ Assembly is needed in Northern Ireland Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-03-21Permalink: https://www.democraticaudit.com/2018/03/21/gender-and-power-sharing-why-a-citizens-assembly-is-needed-in-northern-ireland/Blog homepage: https://www.democraticaudit.com/

Gender and power-sharing – why a citizens’ assembly is needed in Northern Ireland

http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/109608/1/dit_com_2018_03_21_gender_and_power_sharing_why_a_citizens_assembly_1_.pdf

Gender and power-sharing – why a citizens’ assembly is needed in Northern Ireland

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

LSE Research Online