Brexit, the Belfast Agreement and Northern Ireland

Imperilling a Fragile Political Bargain

Bibliographic Data

ID8084453
AuthorsPaul Teague (0000-0002-9470-2198, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume90
Issue4
Pages690-704
Publication date2019-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Political Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0032-3179 • E-ISSN: 1467-923X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1467-923x.12766
OpenAlexW2979625841
LanguageEN
Citations received6

The major impact of the Belfast Agreement was to engineer a peaceful coexistence between nationalism and unionism that involved each bloc recognising it had sufficient power to thwart the political ambitions of the other side, but not enough to push through its own agenda. This paper argues that Brexit seriously damages this peaceful coexistence and could trigger what is termed an Ulster war of attrition in which Northern Ireland becomes entrapped in a political stalemate where each side strives to triumph without having sufficient power to do so. It also argues that to restore internal political stability in Northern Ireland, and to indemnify against the risk of disorderly relationships between the British and Irish governments in the future, the strategic importance of Strand 3 of the Belfast Agreement requires strengthening

Brexit · Damages · Economics · Ethnology · European union · International trade · Irish · Nationalism · Northern ireland · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Sociology · Stalemate · Irish and British Studies · Law

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