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 1

Latest Journal Issue

Volume 97, Issue 1

Contains a collection on the politics and policy of housing, edited by Christine Whitehead, Colm Murphy and Deborah Mabbett. This collection features contributors from geography, economics and politics, and from universities, think tanks, and independent academics. Contributors debate the roots of the housing crisis and illuminate housing policy dilemmas in the UK and elsewhere. Other articles in the issue include 'What Will it Take for a Woman to Become President of the United States?' by Rosie Campbell and Joni Lovenduski, and 'Unity and Division in the Public's Policy Preferences After the 2024 General Election' by Lotte Hargrave. In our Reports section, Darcy Luke and Nathan Critch explain what's wrong with Demos's report 'The Human Handbrake'. Finally, book reviews include Tim Bale's analysis of Conservatism, Christian Democracy, and the Dynamics of Transformation, edited by Gary Love and Christian Egander Skov.

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