Table of Contents

Part 1: The Context of Irish Politics 1. Historical Background John Coakley 2. The Foundations of Statehood John Coakley 3. The Changing Constitution Michael Gallagher Part 2: Representative Democracy at Work 4. The Electoral System Richard Sinnott 5. Parties and the Party System Liam Weeks 6. Voting Behaviour Michael Marsh 7. The Oireachtas: Parliament and President Michael Gallagher 8. The constituency role of Dáil deputies Michael Gallagher and Lee Komito 9. Women in Politics Yvonne Galligan Part 3: Policy and Administration 10. The Government and the Taoiseach Eoin O'Malley and Shane Martin 11. Interest Groups in the Policy-Making Process Gary Murphy 12. Multi-Level Governance Neil Collins and Aodh Quinlivan Part 4: Ireland in a Wider World 13. Northern Ireland and the British Dimension John Coakley 14. Europe and the International Dimension Brigid Laffan and Ben Tonra