By R. Kenneth Carty (University of British Columbia) Making sense of Irish electoral politics has always required coming to grips with Fianna Fáil: just what kind of a party is it? Long dominant, as the most successful party in Western Europe, it seems to be an exception to our understanding of the patterns of democratic…
If you felt that media coverage of the recent US Presidential Election appeared to lack focus on policy issues, you may well be correct.
Post by Muireann O’Dwyer School of Politics and International Relations, UCD As the dust settles after the publication of the longest ever Programme for Government, it’s a good time to start taking a deeper look at the promises contained within the published plans for the new government. A document born of long negotiation, it is clear…
The RTÉ Prime Time Investigates report on corruption among some councillors broadcast last night inevitably draws a reaction of how do we rid a country of corruption. A simple answer might be to stop electing probably corrupt candidates. Charles Haughey continued to get elected even though rumours that he amassed his fortune corruptly were rife. Michael Lowry continues…
Posted on behalf of Michael Courtney, Dublin City University This blog outlines the main arguments from a recent article published in Irish Political Studies by the author. The article is available free to download until the end of August at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/07907184.2015.1021796 There is considerable contemporary interest in maximising the efficacy of Irish democracy. This has…
Post by Dr. Michael Courtney, TCD The big stories of this year’s local elections are the collapse of the Labour party vote and the ongoing rise of Sinn Féin. To a large degree, the surge in Sinn Féin’s percentage of the vote and number of councillors is attributed to a protest vote. The narrative goes…
This is the text of an article published in the Sunday Business Post 22nd December 2013 On the night of 6th December 2008 there were widespread protests against the government in Athens. In one middle class district in the centre of Athens, Exarcheia, there were confrontations with the police. Police were ordered to leave the…
By Claire McGing, NUI Maynooth Parliaments, of which the Dáil and Seanad are no exception, are highly gendered institutions. Since the rules were written by men at a time in which women were not expected to participate in politics, the very norms, rules and culture of parliament conform to a male lifestyle. This is why the idea of…
Guest post by Sarah O’Neill, founder Dailwatch.ie For many, last week’s AngloTapes have reinforced a sense of cynicism in the political system and confirmed their rationale for disengaging from the political process. The conversation between two Anglo’s senior managers suggests that the banks had the upper hand in negotiations with government leaders and reveals an…
A couple of interesting stories in the Irish media today caused me to re-consider the notion that political reform should be the exclusive domain of elected politicians. With their electoral mandates, experience of the day-to-day functioning of political institutions and (in Ireland, at least) their exclusive right to initiate constitutional change, our professional politicians certainly…
Irish Politics Forum 