Difference between revisions of "Politics in the British Isles"

Latest revision as of 01:20, 30 May 2012

A slam-dunk for Keep, based on title. Note, for instance, that there is a category of this title on Wikipedia, but no article. This article should be on Wikipedia, end of story. Content is supposed to be a matter for the talk page, with editors at AfD discussing only the fate of the title (merge, delete, or keep). But it doesn't usually work that way. At most, it should have been made into a stub until better content could be found, but such solutions lie far outside the scope of most WP editors' imaginations, and that apparently includes the seasoned bureaucrats that voted here. The AfD for this article was closed in less than four days, rather than the usual week. Much of the material here was copy-pasted into Wikipedia:Ireland-United Kingdom relations in the middle of the AfD. The following is a recreation of the article based on KarlB's three links (Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Politics in the British Isles#Note to other editors)

See Wikipedia:Politics of the United Kingdom

Today, the Wikipedia:British and Irish Isles contain two Wikipedia:sovereign states: the Ireland (or the Republic of Ireland) and the Wikipedia:United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom is comprised of four constituent parts: three countries, Wikipedia:England, Wikipedia:Scotland and Wikipedia:Wales, and one province, Wikipedia:Northern Ireland.^[1] All but Northern Ireland have been independent states at one point and each of have their own history and sense of identity.

There are also three Wikipedia:Crown dependencies, Wikipedia:Guernsey, Wikipedia:Jersey and the Wikipedia:Isle of Man, in the archipelago which are not part of the United Kingdom, although the United Kingdom maintains responsibility for certain affairs such as international affairs and ensuring good governance, on behalf of the Wikipedia:British crown, and can legislate directly for them. These participate in the shared institutions created between Ireland and the United Kingdom under the Good Friday Agreement. The United Kingdom and the Wikipedia:Crown dependencies form what are called the Wikipedia:British Islands.

Devolution is a process the United Kingdom whereby autonomy has been granted to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This exists alongside calls for independence from the United Kingdom, especially in Scotland. In Northern Ireland, nationalists wish to reunited with the rest of Ireland, whilst unionists want to remain in the United Kingdom.

The Wikipedia:British monarch was Wikipedia:head of state of all of these states and countries of the archipelago from the Wikipedia:Union of the Crowns in 1603 until the their role in Ireland became ambiguous with the enactment of the Wikipedia:Constitution of Ireland in 1937. Their role was removed in Ireland with the enactment of the Wikipedia:Republic of Ireland Act in 1949. The Wikipedia:President of Ireland is head of state in Ireland.

Common travel area[edit]

Various multilateral arrangements over the years have led to the development of the Wikipedia:Common Travel Area, a passport-free zone that comprises the islands of Wikipedia:Ireland, Wikipedia:Great Britain, the Wikipedia:Isle of Man and the Wikipedia:Channel Islands. The area's internal borders are subject to minimal or non-existent border controls and can normally be crossed by Irish and British citizens with only minimal Wikipedia:identity documents,^[2]

Citizenship and citizens rights[edit]

Due to the close historical connections between the isles, a number of special citizenship and voting rules apply. For example, Irish citizens resident in the UK can vote and stand in any UK elections; UK citizens resident in Ireland can vote or stand in European and Local Elections, vote in parliamentary elections, but not vote or stand in Presidential elections or referendums.

Academic perspectives[edit]

The recent trend of using an archipelago perspective in scholarship of history, politics and identity was initiated by historian Wikipedia:J. G. A. Pocock in the 1970s. He pressed his fellow historians to reconsider two issues linked to the future of British and Irish history. First, he urged historians of the Wikipedia:Britain and Ireland to move away from histories of the Three Kingdoms (Scotland, Ireland, England) as separate entities,^[3] and he called for studies implementing a bringing-together or conflation of these national narratives into truly integrated enterprises. Pocock proposed the term Atlantic archipelago to avoid the contested British isles. It has since become the commonplace preference of historians to treat British history in just this fashion (e.g. Wikipedia:Hugh Kearney's The British Isles: A History of Four Nations or Wikipedia:Norman Davies The Isles: A History).^[4]

In recent times, Wikipedia:Richard Kearney has been an important scholar in this space, through his works for example on a "Postnationalist Archipelago".^[5] While Kearney's work has been noted by many as important for understanding of modern Irish politics and identity, some have also argued that his approach can be applied to the archipelago as a whole:

"Scholars and critics have noted the importance of Kearney's work on post-nationalism for Irish studies and politics. However, less attention has been paid to its implications for discussions and debates beyond the Irish Sea. In this context, Kearney's writings can be viewed as part of a broader intellectual landscape in which national identity, nationalism, and possibly postnationalism are at the center of political and intellectual discussions in the Isles. I say the Isles here, rather than simply Britain, because re-imagining the component parts of Britain, or more precisely the United Kingdom, entails reconfiguring the relationships in the entire archipelago."^[6]

Kearney's ideas and thinking were important in the lead-up to the Wikipedia:Good Friday Agreement, and he was an early proponent of what eventually became the Wikipedia:British-Irish Council.

The University of Exeter in the UK and the Moore Institute at the National University of Ireland, Galway started in October 2010 the Atlantic Archipelago Research Project, which purports to "take an interdisciplinary view on how Britain’s post-devolution state inflects the formation of post-split Welsh, Scottish and English identities in the context of Ireland’s own experience of partition and self-rule; Consider the significance of this island grouping to the understanding of a Europe that exists in a range of configurations; from large scale political union, to provinces, dependencies, and micro-nationalist regions (such as Cornwall), each with their contribution and presence; Reconsider relations across our island grouping in light of issues regarding the management and use of the environment."^[7]

Intergovernmental bodies[edit]

The following is a summary of the intergovernmental bodies in between Ireland, the United Kingdom and it's dependencies. (Note: this list does not include bodies that exist solely in the United Kingdom).

Multilateral relations[edit]

The UK is composed of four constituent parts: Wikipedia:England, Wikipedia:Scotland, Wikipedia:Wales and Wikipedia:Northern Ireland. Devolved administrations exist in three of these: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Additionally, the UK has three dependencies in the British-Irish archipelago: the Wikipedia:Isle of Man and the Wikipedia:Channel Islands of Wikipedia:Jersey and Wikipedia:Guernsey. The main body for multilateral relations in the UK, its constituent parts and dependencies in the region, and Ireland is the Wikipedia:British–Irish Council. The British-Irish Council (BIC) is an Wikipedia:international organisation^[8] established under the Wikipedia:Belfast Agreement in 1998. Its membership comprises representatives from:

• the two sovereign governments of Ireland and the Wikipedia:United Kingdom;
• the three devolved administrations of Wikipedia:Northern Ireland, Wikipedia:Scotland and Wikipedia:Wales
• the Wikipedia:crown dependencies of Wikipedia:Guernsey, the Wikipedia:Isle of Man and Wikipedia:Jersey.

The Council formally came into being on 2 December 1999. Its stated aim is to "promote the harmonious and mutually beneficial development of the totality of relationships among the peoples of these islands". The BIC has a standing secretariat, located in Wikipedia:Edinburgh, Wikipedia:Scotland, and meets in bi-annual summit session and regular ministerial meetings.^[9]

Some researchers have compared the British-Irish council to similar multilateral bodies amongst the Nordic countries: the Wikipedia:Nordic Council and the Wikipedia:Nordic Council of Ministers.^[10]

In addition to the council, there is also the Wikipedia:British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly (BIPA), a deliberative body consisting of members of legislative bodies in the Wikipedia:United Kingdom, Ireland, and the British crown dependencies. Its purpose is to foster common understanding between elected representatives from these jurisdictions.

The assembly consists of members of the Wikipedia:Parliament of the United Kingdom and the Wikipedia:Oireachtas (the Irish parliament) as well as five representatives from the Wikipedia:Scottish Parliament, five from the Wikipedia:National Assembly for Wales, five from the Wikipedia:Northern Ireland Assembly, and one each from the Wikipedia:States of Jersey, the Wikipedia:States of Guernsey and the Wikipedia:Tynwald of the Wikipedia:Isle of Man.

Bilateral relations[edit]

Numerous bilateral relations exist between the various countries in the archipelago, including between Ireland and the devolved governments of the United Kingdom. One important body is the Wikipedia:North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) ^[11] a body established under the Wikipedia:Good Friday Agreement to co-ordinate activity and exercise certain governmental powers across the whole island of Wikipedia:Ireland. The Council takes the form of meetings between ministers from both the Wikipedia:Republic of Ireland and Wikipedia:Northern Ireland and is responsible for twelve policy areas. Six of these areas are the responsibility of corresponding North/South Implementation Bodies.

The Wikipedia:Republic of Ireland has also established bilateral relations with three countries of the Wikipedia:Crown dependencies: the Isle of Man, Wikipedia:Jersey and Wikipedia:Guernsey.

Ireland has also established bilateral relationships with Wales and Scotland. The Irish and Welsh government are collaborating on various economic development projects through the auspices of the Ireland Wales Programme, funded by the European Union.^[12]

Common travel area[edit]

Various multilateral arrangements over the years have led to the development of the Wikipedia:Common Travel Area, a passport-free zone that comprises the islands of Wikipedia:Ireland, Wikipedia:Great Britain, the Wikipedia:Isle of Man and the Wikipedia:Channel Islands. The area's internal borders are subject to minimal or non-existent border controls and can normally be crossed by Irish and British citizens with only minimal Wikipedia:identity documents,^[13]

Citizenship and citizens rights[edit]

Due to the close historical connections between the isles, a number of special citizenship and voting rules apply. For example, Irish citizens resident in the UK can vote and stand in any UK elections; UK citizens resident in Ireland can vote or stand in European and Local Elections, vote in parliamentary elections, but not vote or stand in Presidential elections or referendums.

Joint projects[edit]

A number of large-scale joint projects amongst the various countries in the Isles have been undertaken, often around infrastructure and energy. For example, the governments of Ireland, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are collaborating on the Wikipedia:ISLES project, which will facilitate the development of offshore Wikipedia:renewable energy sources, such as wind, wave and tidal energy, and renewable energy trade between Wikipedia:Scotland, Wikipedia:Republic of Ireland and Wikipedia:Northern Ireland.^[14] Through the auspices of the British-Irish council, Ministers from all countries have agreed to work on energy cooperation^[15]

Isle of Man and Ireland are also planning the development of renewable energy sources, including sharing costs for the development of a wind farm off the coast of the Isle of Man.^[16] Sources indicate a wider collaboration is also planned, with Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, and Ireland, to leverage the strong tidal currents around the Channel Islands.^[17]

An intergovernmental collaboration platform called the Wikipedia:Irish Sea Region has also been set up, managed by the Dublin regional authority. The platform links the governments of Ireland, Isle of Man, the UK, and various local jurisdictions, in order to collaborate on planning for development of the Irish sea and bordering areas.^[18]

In 2004, a natural gas interconnection agreement was signed, linking Ireland with Scotland via the Isle of Man.^[19]

Political movements[edit]

Template:expand section An important political movement in several countries in the Isles is Wikipedia:British unionism, an ideology favoring the continued union of the United Kingdom. It is most prevalent in Scotland, Wikipedia:England, and Northern Ireland. Wikipedia:British unionism has close ties to Wikipedia:British nationalism. Another movement is Loyalism, which manifests itself as loyalism to the Wikipedia:British Crown.

The converse of unionism, Wikipedia:Nationalism, is also an important factor for politics in the Isles. Nationalism can take the form of Wikipedia:Welsh nationalism, Wikipedia:Cornish_nationalism, Wikipedia:English nationalism, Wikipedia:Scottish nationalism, Wikipedia:Ulster nationalism, or independence movements in the Isle of Man or Channel Islands.^[20]

Wikipedia:Pan-Celticism is also a movement which is present in several of the countries which have a celtic heritage.

There are no major political parties that are present in all of the countries, but several Irish parties such as Wikipedia:Sinn Fein and Wikipedia:Fianna Fail have won elections in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and both of these parties have established offices in Britain in order to raise funds and win additional supporters.^[21]

Immigration and emigration[edit]

Template:expand section Wikipedia:Irish migration to Great Britain is an important factor in the politics and labor markets of the Isles. Irish people have been the largest minority group in Britain for centuries, regularly migrating across the Irish Sea. From the earliest recorded history to the present, there has been a continuous movement of people between the islands of Ireland and Great Britain due to their proximity. This tide has ebbed and flowed in response to politics, economics and social conditions of both places. As of the 2011 census, there were 869,000 Irish-born residents in the United Kingdom.^[22]

Culture[edit]

Main article: Wikipedia:British_Isles#Culture

Many of the countries and regions of the isles, especially Wikipedia:Ireland, Wikipedia:Wales, Wikipedia:Cornwall, Wikipedia:Isle of Man, and Wikipedia:Scotland share a common Celtic heritage, and all of these countries have branches of the Wikipedia:Celtic league.

Some sports are organized on an All-Islands basis, such as rugby. The Wikipedia:Triple Crown is an honour contested annually by the four national teams of the British Isles who compete within the larger Six Nations Championship: England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. If any one of those four teams wins all its games against the other three, they win the Triple Crown.

References[edit]

See also[edit]

• Wikipedia:Anglo-Irish
• Wikipedia:Irish community in Britain
• Wikipedia:Politics in the United Kingdom
• Wikipedia:Queen Elizabeth II's visit to the Republic of Ireland