“Tribal Trenches”: A Qualitative Critique of Consociational Design in Northern Ireland

Sarah Hollmann

doi:10.5642/urceu.201801.06

Abstract

How does consociational power sharing impact ethnic divisions in Northern Ireland? Though those in the consociationalist school would claim that the lack of active political violence in Northern Ireland is a powerful argument in favor of consociationalism; I argue that active violence has been replaced by increasing political polarization and ethno-national tensions. Using data gathered from twenty-four semi-structured interviews in Northern Ireland, this project critiques the hypothesis that ethnic divisions lose their salience after the implementation of consociational power-sharing agreements after ethno-nationalist conflict. Despite the growing literature on the long-term effects of consociationalism, scholars have largely focused on quantitative methods, overlooking qualitative approaches. By presenting an ethnographically based critique of consociationalism, I hope to approach this gap in the literature. This research was generously funded by both the Stetson University Research Experience Grant and by the Stetson Honors Program.

Highlights

The Belfast Agreement was a political fudge because it didn’t address the issue of the land
Findings and Analysis Through my interviews, I analyze the ways in which consociational power sharing has affected the political and social dimensions of post-Troubles Northern Ireland
This paper will delve into the institutionalization of ethnic identity, prevalence of ethnic tribune parties, and institutional neglect of the other inherent in consociationalism

Summary

Introduction

The Belfast Agreement was a political fudge because it didn’t address the issue of the land. It said that if people sign up to work together politically, all will be reasonably well, we can look forward to progress, whatever that means. While the guns have been quiet for almost twenty years in Northern Ireland, the sectarian division that spurred the Troubles lives on. As exampled in the two quotes above, sectarian political division has become the status quo. Through the consociational design of the Northern Irish executive, identity has been codified in the constitution and political process (Taylor, 2006). Consociationalism, or ethnic power sharing, has designated ethno-national identity as a valid political orientation. Political parties act as “ethnic tribunes”, focusing on issues of ethnicity rather than issues of cross-community interest (Dixon, 2011; McGlynn et al, 2014)

Methods

Results

Conclusion