Consociational Power-Sharing in Northern Ireland Uncertain Stability

1: Northern Ireland’s Uncertain Stability, Timofey Agarin and Rupert Taylor  2: Configurations of Consociation and Antinomies of Accommodation: Explaining the Trajectories of Settlement in Northern Ireland, Joseph Ruane and Jennifer Todd  3: The Uncertainties of ‘Political Stability’, Cathal McManus  4: Governing with Basic Consensus: Public Attitudes to Power-Sharing in Northern Ireland, John Garry, Brendan O’Leary, and Jamie Pow  5: ‘For God’s Sake Get Up and Walk!’ Fostering the Spirit of Accommodation in Northern Ireland, Neil Matthews and Sophie Whiting  6: Unintended Consequences of Consociational Institutions: The Case of Northern Ireland, Aleksandra Zdeb  7: A Critical Mass of Crises? Openings for Others, Drew Mikhael  8: Consociational Power-Sharing and Sectarianism: A Critical Race Theory Perspective, Sadiya Akram  9: Gender, Sexuality, and Consociationalism in Northern Ireland, Fidelma Ashe  10: Cross-Segmental Parties and Political Stability in Northern Ireland, Henry Jarrett  11: The Persistance of the Communal Binary in Consociational Thought: A Genealogical Critique, Andrew Finlay  12: Beyond Consociationalism: From Conservative Communalism to Civic Cosmopolitanism, Robin Wilson  13: Preparing for the End of Consociational Power-Sharing?, Colin Harvey  14: Consociationalism and the Accommodation of Ethno-National Conflict in a United Ireland, Matthijs Bogaards 

Biography

Timofey Agarin is Reader in Comparative Ethnic Conflict at Queen’s University Belfast, UK. He is the author of Minority Rights and Minority Protection in Europe (with Karl Cordell, 2016) and has published in journals such as the International Political Science Review, British Journal of Politics and International Relations, and Representation.

Rupert Taylor is a Visiting Research Scholar at the Centre for the Study of Ethnic Conflict, Queen’s University Belfast, UK. He is author of Systemic Racism in South Africa: Humanity Lost (2024) and the editor of Consociational Theory: McGarry and O’Leary and the Northern Ireland Conflict (2009) and Third Sector Research (2010).

"This is a vital book on Northern Ireland’s consociational political arrangements. A collection of leading authors critically dissect the strengths and weaknesses of power-sharing between rival blocs. Although public support for the Good Friday Agreement remains strong, episodic collapses of the political institutions created by that 1998 deal have led to calls for reform. This volume analyses the value of power-sharing; explores the extent to which fragility is in-built within the polity; considers whether a consociation can ever degrade the bloc divisions it manages; and assesses how its democratic institutions might evolve. The book is an essential read for anyone wanting to better understand the difficult dynamics of managing a divided society."

Jonathan Tonge, Professor of Politics, University of Liverpool

 

"Northern Ireland’s peace was never meant to stand still. This urgent and unflinching collection reveals the cracks beneath the surface—fractured identities, stalled reforms, and politics in flux. With sharp contributions from leading voices including Brendan O’Leary, Matthijs Bogaards, Joseph Ruane, and Jennifer Todd, it asks the hard questions: what was promised, what was delivered, and what still lies ahead? Essential reading for anyone navigating the challenges of post-conflict consociational democracy."

Michael Kerr, Professor of Conflict Studies, King's College London

 

"This collection captures a moment at which the shine has come off consociationalism in Northern Ireland. These essays confront the challenges in applying consociational ideas in Northern Ireland amid the upheavals of Brexit and demographic shift, and the groups marginalised as a result. This makes for essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the process by which a society outgrows the strictures imposed by such a governance order and the challenges inherent in adapting such arrangements."

Colin Murray, Professor of Law and Democracy, Newcastle University

'Agarin and Taylor have assembled an impressive range of contributors to offer a comprehensive perspective on Northern Ireland’s consociational conundrum, which remains a paradigmatic case of ethnic conflict regulation. Individually and collectively, they explore what has and has not worked well since the original agreement in 1998. The intellectual depth of the analysis is outstanding, making this collection required reading for any student of the political dynamics of divided societies.'

Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security, University of Birmingham