From Across the Irish Sea: Brexit and Irish Politics

Despite the continued confusion over how the United Kingdom will move forward with Brexit, it is clear that upcoming decisions will greatly impact global geopolitics. Perhaps the most important consequence of Brexit will occur on the United Kingdom’s own border with Ireland. By examining Irish political responses to the ongoing Brexit negotiations, Patrick Holden’s writing in Political Geography shows how the Taoisigh’s (the Irish prime ministers) originally cautious approach to negotiations has been transformed by circumstance into a new form of territorial claim over Northern Ireland: a supra-nationalist act of protectionism seeking to safeguard hard-won regional integration.

The two most important documents pertaining to Anglo-Irish relations since the outbreak of “The Troubles,” the ethno-nationalist conflict that consumed Northern Ireland during the 20^th century, are the Downing Street Declaration and the Good Friday Agreement. In these documents, the United Kingdom and Ireland agreed that although sovereignty rested in Ireland’s hands, this self-determination was to be exercised in two distinct territories, with Northern Ireland maintaining its position in the United Kingdom. With the advent of the European Union, the border that had caused such strife for generations became porous. With both Ireland and the United Kingdom as members of the European Union, the island of Ireland functioned in a relatively unified manner in terms of trade and economic relations.

Naturally, the Brexit referendum in 2016 was a major shock to that state of affairs. The Irish government “openly campaigned for a remain vote in the referendum,” and 56 percent of Northern Irish voters supported Remain. Nevertheless, the Leave faction prevailed, and where stability between the United Kingdom and Ireland had been the rule, uncertainty now reigns. Despite Ireland’s position as an EU member state and, as such, part of the stronger economic player in Brexit negotiations, “Brexit as an event pose(s) real threats to the delicate political equilibrium that ha(s) existed in Northern Ireland… (while also posing) a significant threat to the Northern Irish economy.” For an Irish government that plays a large role in Northern Irish politics, a hard Brexit will make it difficult for the country “to remain at ‘the heart of Europe.’”

At first, both the Irish government and their Northern Irish counterparts strove to exercise caution, with Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s emphasis that it is a “vital national interest… that we do not return to the days of a hard border” balanced out by referring to the United Kingdom as “our British friends.” Yet as Brexit negotiations continued into 2017 and Irish leadership transitioned to current Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, there was a notable shift in tone. The threat of a hard border dividing the island of Ireland led to an attempt “to mobilize EU power for (Irish) ends” and a reframing of the problem of the Irish border question. Gone was the understanding, anxious tone of Taoiseach Kenny, and instead came a clear declaration: “The blame for this is placed squarely on ‘the Brexiteers’… ‘there are people who do want a border, a trade border between the United Kingdom and the European Union and therefore a border between Ireland and Britain … I believe the onus should be on them to come up with proposals.’”

Perhaps even more notably, Varadkar reintroduced language that bridges the gap between Irish nationalism and Irish internationalism, telling the people of Northern Ireland that they would “never again be left behind by the Irish government” and utilizing language to stand up for the protection of “transnational space and the rights of EU citizens.” Although there was no change to how the Irish government approached Brexit negotiations, the situation that confronted each Taoiseach led to an increasingly aggressive stance on Ireland’s place in the European Union.

There is no doubt that the story of Brexit is far from over, and the ways that Brexit will affect Ireland, Northern Ireland, and their shared border remains relatively unknown. What is certain is that with the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union, Ireland has begun to assert itself more strongly regarding the protection of Northern Irish rights, as guaranteed by the Good Friday Amendment. After spending nearly half a century waging a low-level war for its freedom, it may be regional economic dissolution spurred by votes from across the Irish Sea that brings the island of Ireland one step closer to reunification.

Article source: Holden, Patrick, “Territory, Geoeconomics and Power Politics: The Irish Governments Framing of Brexit,” Political Geography 76 (2020): 102063.

Featured image, created by : Mark Sheppard