ARINS ISIA Special Section

In this special section, guest editor Brice Dickson commissioned four articles that highlight topics that he felt had been relatively neglected in academic circles to date but were of growing importance—topics that were of particular relevance to the conflict in Northern Ireland but also to a significant extent to the situation in the Republic of Ireland.

Introduction to Special Section    -    Brice Dickson

Equality Frameworks on the Island of Ireland    -    Evelyn Collins and Niall Crowley

This paper explores the frameworks of equality legislation, institutions and policy mechanisms that underpin the equality agenda in Northern Ireland and in Ireland. These are statutory frameworks that hold potential to progress social change for greater equality and the elimination of discrimination. They set down the norms and standards to be reflected in individual practice, institutional functions and societal culture. Read on>>

Victims’ Rights on the Island of Ireland    -    Anurag Deb

Victims of crime have historically suffered from obscurity: relegated to serving the criminal justice system rather than having that system serve their needs. This started to change on the island of Ireland in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries and continued apace under the aegis of the EU. Read on>> 

Listen to the related podcast episode

The Imprint of Finality? Partition and Census Enumeration    -    Paul Nolan

The partition of Ireland in 1921 drew heavily on the census data of 1911 to determine how the boundary between North and South was to be demarcated. The intention was to ensure a numerical advantage for the Protestant population in the new Northern Ireland, sufficient to ensure a permanent unionist majority. The publication of the data from the 2021 census in Northern Ireland and the 2022 census in Ireland allows for an assessment of how the demography has changed over the past 100 years.. Read on>>

'Abject and True Remorse': Loyalism and the Politics of Regret in Northern Ireland    -    Kieran McEvoy

This article examines the politics of apologies from loyalist armed groups. Using the CLMC 1994 ceasefire statement as a case study, it is based on original survey data; semi-structured interviews with ex-combatants, victims and others; and archival research. It also draws on the academic literature on apologies, transitional justice, political violence, historical institutionalism, literary criticism and the sociology of legitimacy and identity. Read on>>