ABSTRACT This lecture, delivered in memory of Peter Mair, discusses how political scientists can account for the far right's evolving relationship with democracy as far-right actors become increasingly integrated into mainstream politics. Building on Mair's diagnosis of the hollowing out of representative democracy, I argue that this integration challenges the conceptual and empirical frameworks long structuring the study of the far right. Three key pathways are identified: (a) defining what far right is, as distinctions between extreme, radical, and mainstream actors have blurred; (b) understanding what the far right does in power, where focus on policy outcomes — especially immigration — has obscured how far-right actors embed coercion and targeted violence within state institutions; and (c) locating where the far right operates, as movements increasingly operate across both civil society and electoral politics. The lecture proposes expanding party-centred perspectives to view the far right as a nativist-authoritarian social movement integrating multiple actors across a spectrum from street violence to institutional governance. By situating the far right within the ‘void’ Mair described, I highlights how democratic withdrawal has created structural opportunities for movements challenging liberal democracy, offering new directions for research on the far right, democracy, political parties, and social movements.

ABSTRACT In 1983, the Dublin government established the New Ireland Forum. Its objective was to reach an agreed approach to address the conflict in Northern Ireland. It owed its existence primarily to the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader, John Hume, but what is largely neglected in any commentary is the part played in the background to its formation by the Irish Independence Party (IIP). The IIP was a nationalist party that operated in Northern Ireland in the 1970s/1980s. Its objective was to seek a British withdrawal from Northern Ireland by political means. It was not a long-term electoral success and it folded in 1989. Effectively, it was squeezed out in the rivalry between Sinn Féin and the SDLP. During its brief existence, the IIP was not an insignificant party, and it had an impact on these two larger parties. It briefly challenged the electoral dominance of the SDLP, and its electoral support was a factor that convinced Sinn Féin to contest elections in Northern Ireland in 1982. This article will include a brief history of the IIP, its effect on Sinn Féin and the SDLP, and its neglected and forgotten role in the creation of the New Ireland Forum.

ABSTRACT Drawing on qualitative research and original interview material with activists at the community level, this paper focuses on a range of issues and political developments seen to be affecting Ulster Loyalism and outlines how Loyalists interpret and respond to such events. In so doing, it highlights how Loyalists draw on a core sense of identity that is both ideologically defined and, at times, socially and spatially reinforced. This paper further investigates how feelings of political disconnection and exclusion are articulated within sections of Loyalism and how ideas of political alienation and marginalisation have become significant and are reproduced within identified communities.

ABSTRACT The 2025 Irish Presidential Election, held on 24 October, resulted in the election of Independent TD Catherine Connolly as the 10th President of Ireland. Her candidacy, endorsed by all parties on the political left, and her triumph came as a surprise to many. The outcome represented a positive result for the opposition, particularly after their disappointing performance (specifically, Sinn Féin) in the previous general election. In contrast, both coalition parties suffered major setbacks, with Fianna Fáil experiencing the collapse of Jim Gavin’s candidacy. Voter turnout was low, and there was a dramatic increase in spoiled votes, possibly indicating dissatisfaction with the conduct of politics and growing public disillusionment with the political establishment.

ABSTRACT Opposition to immigration in Ireland has visibly increased in recent years. Considerable evidence indicates opponents of immigration are more likely to vote for populist parties and more likely to be disenchanted with the establishment of political parties and democratic institutions. In many Western European countries, opposition to immigration has been the driving force in the rise and electoral success of populist political parties. Using the European Social Survey, this paper explores whether opposition to immigration is associated with lower levels of trust in democratic institutions and weaker attachment to a democratic regime in Ireland. The results indicate that opponents of immigration display significantly lower levels of trust in partisan institutions, such as politicians and political parties, and to a lesser extent in non-partisan institutions, such as the police and legal system. More notably, opponents scored significantly lower on the importance of free and fair elections, a critical media, protection of minorities and living in a democracy. These respondents also displayed significantly stronger authoritarian tendencies, being more likely to accept a strong leader above the law compared to those with more liberal attitudes towards immigrants. Extreme anti-immigrant attitudes thus tend to be associated with an erosion of the democratic public sphere.

ABSTRACT This article analyses and evaluates Fianna Fáil’s ‘progressive republican’ cross-class ideological strategy between 2011 and 2024 after the economic crisis and electoral collapse in 2011. Drawing on Antonio Gramsci’s hegemony, it demonstrates how the party reconstructed strategically ‘national-popular’ identity (i.e. republicanism) and ‘common sense’ values (i.e. ‘fairness’) to attempt to rebuild ideologically a cross-class alliance – the historic foundation of its hegemony. Party leader speeches, party literature and policy documents are analysed to show how its ‘progressive republican’ collective identity and core values framed a new programme. It argues that the strategy yielded a partial recovery but ultimately failed at the implementation stage as it was unable and unwilling to transform substantially the structural effects of Fianna Fáil’s previous neoliberal policies. The latter created deep class contradictions and inequalities in housing and health provision for low- and median-income workers. This meant the limited concessions actually implemented post-2020 were ineffective in winning their consent. I thus conclude that the era of Fianna Fáil one-party hegemony is finally over. The article also defends class and ideological analysis in the light of this application maintaining against existing scholarship that it can provide insights into Fianna Fáil and wider Irish party politics.

ABSTRACT One of the stated advantages of the Single Transferable Vote (STV) voting system in deeply divided societies is that voters are given the opportunity to express support for a range of parties. Proponents argue that this will result in voters casting their second or lower preferences across community lines in ways that encourage support for moderate parties and reduce conflict. This study examines patterns of vote transfers in Northern Ireland in the thirteen local elections since 1973, to determine whether voters are transferring support across the ethno-national divide, and whether such transferring has increased over time. This analysis will provide evidence regarding the effectiveness of STV in encouraging support for moderate parties and cross-community transfers in deeply divided societies. It concludes that there has been a modest but significant increase in transfers from moderate parties in one community to the other, and from moderates in both communities to non-aligned parties. This has played an important role in facilitating moderation in Northern Ireland politics.