Reinforcing partition through fiscal policy

Bibliographic Data

ID6074824
AuthorsCormac Moore (Dublin City Council, Dublin, Ireland, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume39
Issue2
Pages344-365
Publication date2024-04-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueIrish Political Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0790-7184 • E-ISSN: 1743-9078
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/07907184.2024.2334496
OpenAlexW4396694459
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited11

On 1 April 1923, a 'temporary frontier' on imported goods was placed on the boundary line between Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State. This temporary frontier lasted for over 70 years, only being rescinded due to the introduction of the Single Market throughout the European Union in 1993. It was the Irish Free State government that introduced the measure that in essence created a hard land border on the island, and not the Northern Ireland government, with its prime minister Sir James Craig claiming that 'Those in the South who proposed to erect that barrier wall, and not the North, would be responsible for partition. There was no such thing as partition if they had not a Customs barrier between the North and the South' (Irish Times, 10 March 1923). Despite the Free State government's public utterances opposing partition, its decision to erect customs barriers helped to cement partition. This article looks at why the fledgling Irish Free State government chose to erect customs barriers, why the Northern Ireland government opposed the move, and how it drove a further wedge between both jurisdictions, politically, economically and socially

Economics · Fiscal policy · Macroeconomics · Mathematics · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Social and Economic Development in India · South Asian Studies and Diaspora

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