Mobilising Ulster Unionism: new directions or old?

Abstract

One consequence of the contemporary peace process in Ireland has been the surfacing from deep within working class loyalism of groupings openly challenging the traditional values of Unionism. For socialists one of the key questions is whether this marks some form of permanent change, or something that will be neutralised by the counter-positions taken by traditional supporters of Unionism. This article argues that while ‘new loyalism’ may modify the central themes of Unionism, it is unlikely in the foreseeable future to herald a break from them. (C)ultural identity has itself become a term much used and abused. In Ireland, it is thrown around like a frizbee. Terms such as Irish, British; nationalist, Unionist; protestant, catholic. But what does identity actually mean, or, more importantly, are people really so preoccupied with it in Ireland as compared with people in England, France or the US? (Gerald Dawe, The Rest is History, 1998: 113-114) (P)olitical-cultural identities are ways of reading enfolding structural circumstances. These subtle constructs are contested; they express a balance between private thoughts and public truths. The nature of political-cultural identity will be shaped by the exchange of powerful groups, established institutions and the informal resources of everyday life. (P. W. Preston, Political/Cultural Identity, 1997: 175)