Ireland

Monday 13th February

Irish should control their referendum too

Jim Slaven, 13 February 2012
Whitehall has been forced to accept the right of the Scottish people to control their vote on independence. It must not retain a veto over a referendum on Irish unity.
Saturday 11th February

Meet the new boss in Ireland

John Phelan, 11 February 2012
That’s how democracy works between the EU and Ireland. The EU and its servants in the Dáil either give the Irish people too many votes or none at all.
Thursday 24th November

The Vatican and Ireland

Michael Walsh, 24 November 2011
A series of abuse and cover-up scandals within the Catholic church has alienated many in in one of its historic heartlands. But the Vatican remains in denial, says Michael Walsh.
Tuesday 1st November

England and the Guardian's 'Disunited Kingdom'

Michael Gardiner, 1 November 2011
The British media are now defensively acknowledging a post-imperial constitutional threat they have been silencing for decades.

Into Europe

Fintan O’Toole, 1 November 2011
Each EU country has a relationship to Europe which tells you about its own makeup, character and inclinations. Ireland, which entered the European Economic Community in 1973, is no exception.
Monday 24th October

Orthodoxy is wrong: it can pay to default

Nick Pearce, 24 October 2011
In the 1990s, Argentina was an IMF poster boy, but it soon became a byword for the failures of the Washington Consensus. Tying its currency to the dollar, cutting public spending and selling its assets led to a deepening debt spiral from which it could not escape, until it defaulted.
Wednesday 12th October

Gangs and wolves: violence and vulnerability in a global economy

Peadar Kirby, 12 October 2011
Forces of globalization provide the link between the areas of extreme criminal violence in poorer countries and the random attacks carried out by fundamentalists in the west. On all sides, economic interconnectedness has brought wealth to some, criminal opportunities to others, and vulnerability to everyone.
Tuesday 19th July

We must oppose the cruelty of Northern Ireland's new detention centre

Anna Morvern, 19 July 2011
The opening of the first purpose-built immigration detention centre in Northern Ireland this month, is a sad day as it will expand the detention estate once again. But we can resist the simultaneous expansion of our own mental barriers against human equality and freedom, by denying the necessity and normality of yet another detention facility.
Saturday 11th June

UK needs a Convention for a renewed federal union: an argument from Wales

David Melding, 11 June 2011
Welsh Assembly Member David Melding argues that ‘Little Britain’, as a truncated union of England and Wales, would be unlikely to survive
Thursday 2nd June

Festival of Britain 2011: microcosm of a troubled Union

Niki Seth-Smith, 2 June 2011
As Scotland faces the prospect of a vote on independence, the Festival of Britain 2011 is underway in central London. Designed to celebrate the anniversary of the 1951 exhibition and capture the spirit of modern Britain, the festival instead reveals a Union in crisis and denial
Monday 30th May

Garret Fitzgerald: politics for the public good

Noel Dorr, 30 May 2011
A singular period in Irish public life marked by visits from Britain's queen and America's president has also seen the death of Garret Fitzgerald, leading statesman and former Taoiseach (prime minister). Noel Dorr, Ireland's former ambassador to the United Nations and London, reflects on Fitzgerald's life and the moral and political example it offers.
Tuesday 24th May

Conflicting fantasies of Scottish independence - and building a reality

Gerry Hassan, 24 May 2011
Scottish independence has long been a political fantasy. Before the elections, the SNP allowed for conflicting visions of an independent future. Now, whatever the referendum result, we must listen and engage with each-other's hopes for Scotland

How do we talk about Scotland?

Anthony Barnett, 24 May 2011
How should we talk about Scotland and the coming referendum on independence? A non-partisan debate is needed that includes all the nations, acknowledges the English question, and exists outside of the Westminster circle. But how will this be achieved?
Monday 23rd May

Ireland and Britain: ends and beginnings

Fintan O'Toole, 23 May 2011
The deep symbolism of the British queen’s four-day visit to Ireland - and especially her honouring gesture at a key site of modern Irish nationhood - carries a benign depth-charge for both countries, says Fintan O’Toole.
Monday 9th May

Europe and its myopic leaders

Eunice Goes, 9 May 2011
Europe’s leaders are reversing their historically generous role in assisting countries out of criminality and fascism. What we are seeing now therefore strikes at the heart of the European project not just the euro.
Monday 21st March

Fred Halliday: an unfinished voyage

David Hayes, 21 March 2011
The core themes of a new book of Fred Halliday’s openDemocracy columns underline his work's enduring vitality, says David Hayes.
Tuesday 21st December

Ireland: high time for political renewal

Shane Fitzgerald, 21 December 2010
The opposition Fine Gael party, set to play a leading role in the next government, has put forward a programme that proposes to abolish the Seanad, strengthen the parliamentary committee system, reform the legislative process, overhaul the budgetary system, bolster transparency and protect whistleblowers.
Monday 6th December

Ireland’s existential crisis: a contrary view

John O'Brennan, 6 December 2010
Ireland’s acceptance of international financial aid to its stricken finance sector is widely seen in the country as a shameful loss of sovereignty and the prelude to years of austerity. But there is too much hyperbole amid the gloom: Ireland is down, but most definitely not out, says John O’Brennan.
Tuesday 23rd November

Ireland: the challenge of failure

Fintan O’Toole, 23 November 2010
The Irish government’s request to the European Union and the International Monetary Fund for a financial bailout to rescue its broken economy reflects a far deeper decay in the country’s political culture and institutions. This is the very moment to begin to transform them, says Fintan O’Toole.
Thursday 5th August

A Good Friday Agreement for Kashmir

Naveed Qazi, 5 August 2010
The prospect for peace in Kashmir lies, according to Naveed Qazi, in an adaptation of an arrangement similar to the one that brought peace to North Ireland.
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