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Outdoing Sectarian Divisions- An Analysis of how the Alliance Party Tackles the Northern Irish Divide

Mc Ardle, Harry LU (2024) STVK04 20241
Department of Political Science
Abstract
Northern Irish society continues to be heavily polarized along sectarian lines. Despite this, the ethnically non-aligned Alliance Party has seen a sizable increase in support by offering an uncommon perspective beyond the sectarian binary. This raises the question of how a party can remain neutral in a society plagued by ethnic division. By outlining two polar attitudes towards societal divisions- integrationist civic nationalism and segregationist ethnic nationalism- this thesis explores how the Alliance Party approaches Northern Ireland’s ethnic divisions in terms of policy. Looking at six election manifestos between 1998 and 2022 through a qualitative content analysis, it is apparent that Alliance conceptualises policy on ethnic... (More)
Northern Irish society continues to be heavily polarized along sectarian lines. Despite this, the ethnically non-aligned Alliance Party has seen a sizable increase in support by offering an uncommon perspective beyond the sectarian binary. This raises the question of how a party can remain neutral in a society plagued by ethnic division. By outlining two polar attitudes towards societal divisions- integrationist civic nationalism and segregationist ethnic nationalism- this thesis explores how the Alliance Party approaches Northern Ireland’s ethnic divisions in terms of policy. Looking at six election manifestos between 1998 and 2022 through a qualitative content analysis, it is apparent that Alliance conceptualises policy on ethnic divisions along civic nationalist grounds. Furthermore, the party adopts policy on a post-ethnic basis by strongly promoting integration on education and housing, as well as outlining policy to construct a common identity and a shared future beyond the ethno-nationalist binary of republicans and unionists. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Mc Ardle, Harry LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVK04 20241
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, Civic Nationalism, Ethnic Nationalism, Ethnic Divisions and Sectarianism.
language
English
id
9171644
date added to LUP
2024-10-01 11:16:37
date last changed
2024-10-01 11:16:37
@misc{9171644,
  abstract     = {{Northern Irish society continues to be heavily polarized along sectarian lines. Despite this, the ethnically non-aligned Alliance Party has seen a sizable increase in support by offering an uncommon perspective beyond the sectarian binary. This raises the question of how a party can remain neutral in a society plagued by ethnic division. By outlining two polar attitudes towards societal divisions- integrationist civic nationalism and segregationist ethnic nationalism- this thesis explores how the Alliance Party approaches Northern Ireland’s ethnic divisions in terms of policy. Looking at six election manifestos between 1998 and 2022 through a qualitative content analysis, it is apparent that Alliance conceptualises policy on ethnic divisions along civic nationalist grounds. Furthermore, the party adopts policy on a post-ethnic basis by strongly promoting integration on education and housing, as well as outlining policy to construct a common identity and a shared future beyond the ethno-nationalist binary of republicans and unionists.}},
  author       = {{Mc Ardle, Harry}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Outdoing Sectarian Divisions- An Analysis of how the Alliance Party Tackles the Northern Irish Divide}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}