Ending ‘truth friction’ in Northern Ireland’s culture war?

Guest post by Professor William J V Neill, Visiting Research Professor at the Institute of Irish Studies, Queen’s University Belfast and Emeritus Professor of Spatial Planning at the University of Aberdeen. In a recent article for the journal Parliamentary Affairs, Professor Peter Shirlow, Blair Chair at Liverpool University, sharply criticises the impoverished language game involved…

The Conservative-DUP Partnership: a path to a soft Brexit

Guest post by Dr Anthony Costello, lecturer in EU Politics and Comparative Government at the Department of Government, University College Cork. Following the recent General Election in the United Kingdom, the prospect of a soft Brexit now appears to be more achievable than previously anticipated; albeit under the most unlikely and controversial circumstances.

Slow progress forming a Dutch government is no surprise

Talks on forming a new coalition government in the Netherlands collapsed again on Monday evening, when chief negotiator Herman Tjeenk Willink said the four parties involved ­­­­­­­had decided not to pursue the alliance. This comes almost three months after the election. It’s hardly a record yet, but it should not surprise us if government formation…