Irish Political Studies Reader: Key Contributions

This is an introduction to the best available scholarship within Irish politics, featuring the most influential and significant articles which have been published on Irish politics during the past twenty years. Each article is accompanied by a new commentary by another leading scholar which addresses the impact and contribution of the article and discusses how its themes remain crucial today. The book covers all the most important topics within Irish politics including political culture and traditions, political institutions and parties and the peace process. The combination of the best original scholarship and contemporary commentaries on the core political issues makes Irish Political Studies Reader an invaluable resource for all students and scholars of Irish politics.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction: Politics in Ireland, 1982-2007 Eoin O’Malley and Conor McGrath Part 1: Political Culture and Traditions 2. The Not-So Amazing Case of Irish Democracy Bill Kissane 3. Strokes, Cute Hoors and Sneaking Regarders: The Influence of Local Culture on Irish Political Style J.P. O’Carroll 4. Political Culture, Political Independence and Economic Success in Ireland Brian Girvin 5. A State of Exception: The Concept of the Political in Northern Ireland Arthur Aughey 6. Two Traditions in Unionist Political Culture Jennifer Todd 7. The Political Language of John Hume Michael Cunningham 8. Modern Irish Republicanism: The Product of British State Strategies Anthony McIntyre 9. The Politics of Language and Literature in Pre-Independence Ireland Tom Garvin Part 2: Electoral Politics and Political Institutions 10. Does Ireland Need a New Electoral System? Michael Gallagher 11. Religion, National Identity and Political Change in Modern Ireland John Coakley 12. Transformation with a Small "t": Candidates for the Dáil, 1948-82 Michael Marsh 13. Party Choice and Social Structure in Ireland Michael Laver 14. The Northern Ireland Political Process: A Viable Approach to Conflict Resolution? Kirsten E. Schulze 15. Who Voted for Peace? Public Support for the 1998 Northern Ireland Agreement Bernadette C. Hayes and Ian McAllister 16. Devolution and the Diffusion of Power: The Internal and Transnational Dimensions of the Belfast Agreement William A. Hazleton 17. The North: Party Images and Approaches in the Republic Richard Sinnott 18. The DUP as a Politico-Religious Organisation Clifford Smyth

About the Author :
Conor McGrath is an Independent Scholar, and was Lecturer in Political Lobbying and Public Affairs at the University of Ulster from 1999 to 2006. He is author of Lobbying in Washington, London and Brussels: The Persuasive Communication of Political Issues (2005), and co-editor of Challenge and Response: Essays on Public Affairs and Transparency (2006). He has been President of the Political Studies Association of Ireland since 2005. Eoin O’Malley is a Lecturer in Political Science at the School of Law and Government in Dublin City University. He has published articles in Government and Opposition, International Political Science Review and the British Journal of Politics and International Relations on prime ministers and executive power. He is also continuing research on cabinet government in Ireland, some of which has been published in Irish Political Studies.