The production of space and the realignment of identity in Northern Ireland

Article abstract:

The contemporary shift in the emphasis of politics from boundaries to flows challenges modern territorial conceptions of politics, economy, culture and identity. It may be claimed, with some justification, that Northern Ireland is a testing ground for this new form of politics based on the principles of interdependence, communal inclusion and sufficient communal consent, rather than those of independence, exclusion and majoritarianism. The Agreement (1998) and the referenda that followed demonstrate that Ulster unionist and Irish nationalist communal identities have made degrees of realignment to the new politics.

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