Paper: What Shall We Do With the North? Northern Ireland and the Review of Irish Foreign Policy

CCBS’s Research and Policy Manager, Anthony Soares, was invited by the International Consortium for the Study of Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Reconciliation to give a paper on Irish foreign policy and Northern Ireland at an international colloquium that took place in the University of Nottingham from the 21st to 23rd of March. The paper, “What Shall We Do With the North? Northern Ireland and the Review of Irish Foreign Policy”, draws on CCBS’s response to the public consultation on the DFA’s review of its foreign policy.

From its abstract:
“This paper considers the current review on Ireland’s foreign policy being undertaken by the government of Ireland, the first such major re-examination of the country’s external relations since 1996. In the intervening period Ireland has experienced the passing of its “Celtic tiger” phase as it moved into a particularly deep financial and economic crisis, and out of which it appears to be emerging once again. However, the focus is on how the Republic of Ireland has positioned its foreign policy in relation to Northern Ireland, which in the same period has seen the signing of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement and the devolution of powers to Stormont. It also considers the extent to which Northern Ireland risks being marginalised by the government in Dublin as it pursues economic gains through its foreign policy, and as it looks to reinvigorate its relationship with the government in Westminster in the same pursuit for greater economic competitiveness.”

Download the full paper:

What Shall We Do with the North? (PDF)