Description
This volume explores in detail the theme of change within the major political traditions of Ireland. It adopts a dual approach, in which a set of leading politicians examines the theme of change within particular traditions, followed by a corresponding set of contributions from academic observers. Change has been especially marked in the constitutional nationalist tradition within Northern Ireland, which is examined from different perspectives by Alban Maginess and Jennifer Todd. It has been even more pronounced in the republican tradition, however, which is discussed from the standpoints of politician and academic commentator by Mitchel McLaughlin and Paul Arthur. Two strands of unionism are analysed using the same formula. Thus Dermot Nesbit and Richard English focus on the complex and fascinating pattern of change within Ulster unionism. Then the even more remarkable shift in direction within militant loyalism is assessed by one of its main architects, David Ervine, and by academic analyst James McAuley. Finally, Desmond O'Malley and Tom Garvin examine the pattern of change in the south. John Coakley provides a detailed introduction to constitutional innovation and political change in 20th-century Ireland, and the appendix contains selected political documents outlining the various perspectives on the future of Northern Ireland.
