Does Brexit Mean a Return to Sectarianism? Beyond ‘the Border Issue’, the Future of Social Identities in Northern Ireland from a Political Psychological Perspective

Çoymak, Ahmet; O’Dwyer, Emma

doi:10.1057/s41301-019-00233-0

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…McTague, 2019). The public opinion pattern on Brexit is similar to those on reunification: Protestants/Unionists are more likely to favor Brexit, while Catholics/Nationalists are more likely to oppose it (Çoymak & O'Dwyer, 2020).…”

Section: Intergroup Outcomes Of Collective Victimhoodmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…The border in Ireland has been one of the most critical and controversial agendas of Brexit, which rekindled the centuries‐old strife in the region, including the issue of reunification with the Republic of Ireland (J. Duggan, 2015; McTague, 2019). The public opinion pattern on Brexit is similar to those on reunification: Protestants/Unionists are more likely to favor Brexit, while Catholics/Nationalists are more likely to oppose it (Çoymak & O'Dwyer, 2020).…”

Section: Personal Centrality Of Ingroup Victimhoodmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In the Northern Ireland context, the reunification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland has been the most important (and controversial) political issue. Although the discussion of reunification has somewhat withered since the end of the Troubles, there is still a clear divide corresponding to the religious and political partisanship (M. Duggan, 2015): Catholics generally favor reunification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland, whereas Protestants tend to oppose reunification and wish to stay in the United Kingdom (Çoymak & O'Dwyer, 2020; Ferguson et al, 2014).…”

Section: Personal Centrality Of Ingroup Victimhoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Role of Personal Centrality of Ingroup Victimhood in Intergroup Relations and Political Agenda in Northern Ireland

Jeong

Uluğ

Baysu

2022

Political Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Even though the violent conflicts during the Troubles officially ended decades ago, the memories of violence and division between Catholics and Protestants linger in Northern Ireland. We argue that the personal centrality of collective victimhood, which is formed by the memory and perception of past and ongoing victimization, may play an important role in people's attitudes in postconflict societies. The current study investigated both the antecedents and outcomes of the personal centrality of ingroup victimhood in Northern Ireland and examined the vital role it plays in the aftermath of a violent intergroup conflict among Catholics and Protestants. The results demonstrated that ongoing experiences of victimization such as personal and group‐level discrimination and memories of personal and close others' suffering are strongly related to people's personal centrality of ingroup victimhood. The centrality of ingroup victimhood, in turn, predicted various strategies for intergroup interaction and policy preferences such as collective action, support for nonviolence, and attitudes toward reunification of Ireland, which were moderated by group membership. The findings provide empirical evidence for the role of the centrality of ingroup victimhood as a link between experiences of victimization and intergroup interactions as well as policy preferences.

show abstract

Section: Intergroup Outcomes Of Collective Victimhoodmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Personal Centrality Of Ingroup Victimhoodmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Personal Centrality Of Ingroup Victimhoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Role of Personal Centrality of Ingroup Victimhood in Intergroup Relations and Political Agenda in Northern Ireland

Jeong

Uluğ

Baysu

2022

Political Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Critical to this was access to the EU single market, which facilitated the free movement of goods and people across the previously contested Ireland-Northern Ireland border, and as such reduced its salience in everyday life (Hayward, 2018). Now, Brexit and the associated "border question" fuels the political question regarding Northern Ireland's constitutional status and as such disrupts the ability of the BGFA to balance Unionists' and Nationalists' conflicting political preferences (Çoymak & O'Dwyer, 2020;Doyle & Connolly, 2019;Hayward, 2018;Hayward & Murphy, 2018;Shelly & Muldoon, 2022). With the political future of Northern Ireland at stake, Brexit represents both a potential opportunity and a threat, for these political identity groups (Gormley-Heenan & Aughey, 2017, 2021, reproducing a zero-sum context that Northern Ireland had hoped to transcend (Mac Ginty & Du Toit, 2007).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Brexit: Threat or opportunity? Nationalist identification is related to the perceived likelihood of a United Ireland.

Shelly¹,

Muldoon²,

Roth³

2023

Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Northern Ireland has long been a contested territory. The 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement seemed to offer a resolution to the long-standing conflict. However, it has been reawakened by Brexit. Brexit presents a threat in Northern Ireland because it raises the divisive question of the United Kingdom's sovereignty over the region and the issue of the border. However, despite Nationalists'-a political identity group associated with the political ideology of Irish reunification-initial opposition to Brexit, many in this group now view Brexit as a potential opportunity to achieve their political goal of Irish unity. The aim of the present research is to examine the combined influence of the Nationalist's identity and perceived Brexit threat on people's understanding of the proximity of this political goal. We specifically test whether Nationalists' strength of group identification, and the threat of Brexit, is linked to how likely people believe a United Ireland has become. In two studies, we found evidence for the prediction that strong ingroup identification is related to the perception that a United Ireland is more likely. In the second study, path analysis showed that this relationship is conditional on perceived threat. For Nationalists with stronger ingroup identification, the threat of Brexit is greater. Combined, these factors are linked to an increased sense that a United Ireland is likely. In the discussion, we consider the implications of our findings for polarization in this postagreement society. Public Significance StatementThis study suggests that, in contexts of political instability, strong group identification and threat may be associated with people's perceptions of political opportunity. Additionally, it highlights the importance of considering the role of identity and threat to understand people's political preferences in a society with preexisting divisions.

show abstract

A Pentecostal and charismatic contribution to peace and reconciliation: Case study of Northern Ireland

Shannon

2024

Journal of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Does Brexit Mean a Return to Sectarianism? Beyond ‘the Border Issue’, the Future of Social Identities in Northern Ireland from a Political Psychological Perspective

Cited by 3 publications

References 20 publications

The Role of Personal Centrality of Ingroup Victimhood in Intergroup Relations and Political Agenda in Northern Ireland

The Role of Personal Centrality of Ingroup Victimhood in Intergroup Relations and Political Agenda in Northern Ireland

Brexit: Threat or opportunity? Nationalist identification is related to the perceived likelihood of a United Ireland.

A Pentecostal and charismatic contribution to peace and reconciliation: Case study of Northern Ireland

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About