Politics in Ireland is the first major text to provide an accessible and systematic analysis of the politics of Ireland: North as well as South. With the development of a new Northern Irish political system and increasing links across the island, the authors argue that the time is ripe to study together the two polities, which share so much of a common history but which have had very different evolutions through the 20th century.Drawing upon an exceptionally wide range of sources and their own original research, the authors deploy a thematic approach to the study of political institutions, political behaviour and public policy in both the Republic and Northern Ireland in order to produce a detailed, but highly readable, assessment of governance and politics in both political systems. This approach enables them both to outline the differences and similarities between the polities and to explain how they relate to the wider world, in particular to the UK and to Europe.

Introduction: Political Foundations of Irish Politics PART I: POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS The Executive The Legislature The Bureaucracy The Judiciary PART II: POLITICAL BEHAVIOUR Political Parties and the Party System Electoral System and Voting Behaviour Civil Society, Interest Groups and Pressure Politics Political Culture PARTIII: PUBLIC POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION Territorial Administration and Sub-National Government Economic Management Social Policy and the Welfare State Ireland in the EU Conclusions: Towards a New Ireland?