Schrodinger’s devolution and the potential for ongoing political instability...
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...
View ArticleHow democratic are the basic structures of the UK’s devolution settlement?
Devolution encompasses a range of quite different solutions in three countries (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), plus markedly smaller delegations of powers to London and some English cities and...
View ArticleSocial media can play a key role in campaigns against paramilitary-style...
Assaults on young people in Northern Ireland by paramilitary groups remain prevalent, though under-reported. Paul Reilly and Faith Gordon detail how social media has been used both by such paramilitary...
View Article‘The ability of the UK Parliament to override a measure made in any part of...
The Sewel Convention, by which the UK’s government normally seeks the consent of the devolved legislatures on matters that come within their competence, is enshrined in legislation. However, writes...
View ArticleThree questions ahead of Northern Ireland’s local elections 2019
Northern Ireland votes in local council elections on Thursday, 2 May. These elections take place while the Northern Ireland Assembly remains dormant, the Brexit process raises seemingly unresolvable...
View ArticleGoverning without ministers: Northern Ireland power-sharing should be a...
Northern Ireland has been without a functioning Executive or Assembly since January 2017. Jill Rutter and Jess Sargeant detail the consequences, which would be particularly severe in the case of a no...
View ArticleNorthern Ireland and the Withdrawal Agreement
Boris Johnson’s proposed withdrawal agreement with the EU, which Parliament is due to vote on today, establishes different customs arrangements for Northern Ireland than for Great Britain, to avoid a...
View ArticleAre the DUP for turning? When the Union is perceived to be at risk, all...
The UK government’s latest attempt to push a deal through Parliament failed when the DUP withdrew support. Mary C. Murphy explains the DUP’s thinking and options. She writes that, while they can...
View ArticleMatters of consent: the Withdrawal Agreement does not violate the Good Friday...
John McGarry and Brendan O’Leary write that, contrary to the DUP’s claims, the draft Withdrawal Agreement does not violate the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement when it comes to consent. Instead,...
View ArticleBook Review | Contentious Rituals: Parading the Nation in Northern Ireland by...
In Contentious Rituals: Parading the Nation in Northern Ireland, Jonathan S. Blake offers a new examination of the complex phenomenon of Protestant parading in Northern Ireland, drawing on carefully...
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