Theme: Parties & Elections | Content Type: Journal article

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The Rise of the Middle Ground in Northern Ireland: What does it Mean?

Mary C. Murphy

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Gregory DALLEAU

| 1 min read

Among the many consequences of Brexit for Northern Ireland has been how it has contributed to and coincided with some alteration of the electoral landscape. This includes the rise of the centre ground and, in particular, the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI). This article focusses specifically on how the Alliance Party, as the largest of Northern Ireland's middle ground parties, has navigated the Brexit period and with what effect. The analysis explores the implications of the growing size and strength of the Alliance Party for Northern Ireland politics, institutions, policies, north-south relations and the constitutional future. It concludes that although the nationalist versus unionist binary remains valid and consequential in Northern Ireland, it is being challenged and tested by the rise of the middle ground in ways which offer both opportunities and challenges for Northern Ireland's future.

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    Mary C. Murphy

    Mary C. Murphy is a Jean Monnet Professor and Senior Lecturer in Politics at University College Cork, Ireland

    Articles by Mary C. Murphy
Volume 96, Issue 4

Latest Journal Issue

Volume 96, Issue 4

Includes a broad range of other articles including 'Nigel Farage is no Ramsay MacDonald: Comparing the Rise of Reform with the Rise of Labour' by Ben Jackson, 'Are the Rights of Nature the Only Way to Save Lough Neagh?' by Laurence Cooley and Elliott Hill, and 'Modernising the House: Why the 2024 Parliament Highlights the Need to Formalise Party-Group Rights in the House of Commons' by Louise Thompson. Reports include 'Before the Boil: Addressing the UK's Living Standards Crisis' by Alfie Stirling, and 'Understanding Inequality in the UK: What Can We Learn from the Deaton Review?' by Indranil Dutta. Finally, there is a selection of book reviews such as Mary Dejevsky's review of Everyday Politics in Russia: From Resentment to Resistance, by Jeremy Morris, and Donald Sassoon's review of One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, by Omar El Akkad.

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