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 97, Issue 3

Latest Journal Issue

Volume 97, Issue 3

Includes a collection on 'The Political Economy of Tourism', edited by Kira Gartzou-Katsouyanni. Contributions include a piece on climate change in tourism-intensive Alpine regions by Valentina Ausserladscheider; Fathimath Musthaq's comparison between restrictions on tourism in the Seychelles and the Maldives; and Lorenzo Mascioli's investigation into how public policy can be used to make local tourism more sustainable. In our opening commentary, Deborah Mabbett reflects that good policy making is often a tedious process. Other articles include Thomas Quinn, Nicholas Allen and John Bartle on Labour's "Red–Green electoral threat"; Eda Bektas, Korhan Mühürcüoğlu on the paradox of power in Turkey; and Nikhil Datta and Amrita Kulka on Labour's home-building plans. Book reviews include Stephen Coleman's assessment of Matthew Goodwin's latest book, 'Suicide of a Nation'.

Find out more about the latest issue of the journal