The State of Northern Ireland and the Democratic Deficit: Between Sectarianism and Neo-Liberalism

Quotes from the Book "However local spin presents it, the politics of austerity are driven by the neo-liberal government at Westminster." "The central argument of this book is that the current problems in the north of Ireland/Northern Ireland can be explained as resulting from two distinct though related phenomena: a democratic deficit and a neo-liberal economic ideology." "It is not only that sectarianism and neo-liberalism may coexist but, more significantly, neo-sectarianism takes its revised form in neo-liberalism today." "Neo-liberalism has redefined community divisions and played an important part in the evolution of neo-sectarianism." "The labour movement has been hampering the kind of significant change required to transform the north into a progressive society. Breaking its obeisance to the new sectarian state would be a vitally important starting point." "How many gunned-down mineworkers, how many shot-down social-movement leaders and poverty-stricken peasants from Brazil's far north, and how many shot-in-cold-blood young black people in the US do we need to witness before we know that all of these not only sit comfortably with neo-liberalism but indeed are sustained by it?" "Until the state recognises the role of the long war in the presentation of many contemporary emotional and psychological problems, misrecognition at best, or denial at worst, of many emotional difficulties and psychological distress will continue." "The highly publicised `peace process' implied that the war in Northern Ireland was over and everything was resolved. In reality, the war never ended; it simply shifted from military to economic, and sectarian strife continues." "As long as war dominates society, mental illness will increase. Healthcare workers can promote mental health by acknowledging the societal roots of mental illness." "We must do more than manage the misery that war creates. We must organize to dismantle the war machine."

Until the Stormont Assembly collapsed in 2017, Northern Ireland had often been promoted in mainstream media as a newly prosperous, modern, post-conflict society. Written to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, this book argues that the seeds of recent problems were sown back in 1998 when the agreement was signed.Since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, the image projected of Northern Ireland in the mainstream media is frequently that of a newly prosperous, modern, post-conflict society - a rare example of a successful peace process. Promoted as a great place to live and work, the garden seemed to be getting rosier by the day, that is until the Stormont Assembly collapsed in 2017. Written to coincide with the twentieth anniversary of the GFA, this book argues that the seeds of recent problems were sown in the 1998 agreement. The fiasco of a Renewable Heating Incentive that overpaid participants, the lingering whiff of corruption, communities in crisis and growing poverty are all symptoms of the inherent failings of the supposed settlement. Current difficulties are more than teething problems arising from the transition from war to peace and neo-liberalism; they're the first instalment of a deeper crisis in a northern Irish state and society, which has never properly addressed the corrosive nature of sectarianism. Rather than ridding Northern Ireland of sectarianism, neo-liberalism, operating in the absence of armed conflict, has been able to accommodate and, in some instances, create a new form of sectarianism. The GFA has led to a profound democratic deficit. This book focuses on the nature of the North's new sectarian political class who are the principal beneficiaries of the GFA, but attention is also drawn to the labour movement, the plight of precarious and migrant workers, and the undermining of third sector autonomy. Behind the latter is the continuing suffering within communities still impacted by the long period of armed conflict and the evolution of republicanism and Unionism-Loyalism.