An Outcome of Many Wars: Irish Democracy in the Follow-Up to the Period of Independence and Further Possibilities

Abstract

An explanation for the success of Irish democracy is the presence of competing views about Ireland, where “wars” did not correspond to a “neat” victorious side. It can be linked to the Easter Rising of 1916, the Anglo-Irish Treaty dispute, and the ensuing Civil War. “High politics” also presents similar divisions and a sort of acceptance of the limits of a single narrative. The Irish political system, to a large extent a remnant of what existed before independence, plays a significant role in the process. It is worth highlighting PR-STV, canvassing, and political representatives’ clinics. As a whole, I emphasise the relevance of value orientated readings of democracy. The concept of “little voices” is useful to sum up the overall context, translating what is present in the explicit scenario into the more “daily” operation of Irish politics. It reflects the interplay between “people”, their “little voices”, shifting, and their relation to the broader political scenarios. Several dimensions of violence remained, explicit in the treatment of travellers, women and children, asylum seekers, homeless. The expansion of room for little voices may constitute a foregoing contribution of Ireland to the creation of (un)worlds, and therefore to world democracy.