Irish Liberty, British Democracy charts the years of political crisis arising from the 1912 Irish Home Rule Bill, revealing the controversy to have been not only a defining moment in Irish history, but a significant episode, too, in the consolidation of democracy in Great Britain. It reveals the power over the governing Liberal Party wielded by Irish nationalist leader, John Redmond, his decisive role in securing a historic stride for British democracy, and the forcefulness with which he stood up to ostensible friends and foes.
If it were not for the 1916 Rising, self-governing Ireland's founding political generation would have been drawn not from Sinn Fein and the IRA, but from among the ranks of John Redmond's Irish Parliamentary Party. This book makes the imaginative leap back to the time of the Third Home Rule Bill, arguing that the outlook of Irish Nationalist MPs was conditioned by their belief that George V would shortly be opening the Dublin parliament in College Green. From this perspective, far from being politically enervated or on the back foot, the Redmondites fought tooth and nail for self-government at Westminster, while in Ireland they went toe-to-toe with their critics, whether they were Sinn Feiners, Gaelic Leaguers, O'Brienites, Larkinists, Ulster Unionists, or Irish separatists. *** "The author carefully reconstructs the lengthy and detailed process that John Redmond and the IPP enacted to raise the party to its leadership position, the assumptions and priorities underlying their actions, and the gradual heartbreak of their failure. Recommended." - Choice, Vol. 51, No. 9, May 2014Ã?Â?Ã?Â?
Uncovers the transnational movement by Ireland's unionists as they worked to maintain the Union during the Home Rule era. The book explores the political, social, religious, and Scotch-Irish ethnic connections between Irish unionists and the United States as unionists appealed to Americans for support and reacted to Irish nationalism.
The Home Rule Bill, passed by the British parliament in 1912, aimed at giving Ireland some control over her own affairs. However, this was postponed when the First World War broke out, and by the time the war had ended the political landscape in Ireland had changed irrevocably. The respected historians who have contributed to this book examine the reaction to the Home Rule Bill across many shades of political opinion, and give a fascinating analysis of what might have been if external events had not overtaken local ones.
In this wide-ranging study of British parliamentary politics at the time of the Irish Home Rule crisis, W.C. Lubenow analyzes the House of Commons division lists to establish voting patterns and compares these with the partisan, social, and constituency backgrounds of its Members. Drawing on both statistical and manuscript sources, Lubenow describes the responses to ideological issues, including Gladstone's Home Rule policy, and examines the elements that shaped it. The result is a bold new study of the extent to which parliamentary behavior can be explained by theories of political maneuvering, social class, and constituency influence.
In November 2008, as the economic decline was being fully realized, Canada's newly elected minority government, led by Conservative Stephen Harper, presented a highly divisive fiscal update in advance of a proposed budget. Unable to support the motion, the Liberal and New Democratic Parties, with the backing of the Bloc Québécois, formed a coalition in order to seek a no-confidence vote and to form a new government. In response, Conservative cabinet ministers launched a media blitz, informing Canadians that the opposition was mounting a 'coup d'état.' Ultimately Governor General Michaëlle Jean allowed Parliament to be prorogued, the coalition fell apart, and a budget was accepted by the House in January 2009. However, widespread public uncertainty and confusion about the principles of government evident during the crisis revealed a grave lack of understanding about the mechanics and legalities of parliamentary democracy on the part of Canadians. With a foreword by former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, Parliamentary Democracy in Crisis brings together journalists, political scientists, and leading constitutional experts to analyse the crisis and to discuss the nature of Canada's democracy. The contributors bring perspectives from both French and English Canada and cover all aspects of the crisis, including the prorogation of Parliament, the role of the governor general, the proposed Liberal-NDP coalition, the challenges of minority parliaments, and the now-evident rifts in the culture of Canadian democracy. Knowledgeable and comprehensive but still highly accessible, Parliamentary Democracy in Crisis provides a reasoned and timely response to Canada's parliamentary crisis of November 2008.
When John Redmond declared ‘No Irishman in America living 3,000 miles away from the homeland ought to think he has a right to dictate to Ireland’ the Irish leader unwittingly made a rod for his own back. In denying the newly-established United Irish League of America any input into party policy formulation, Redmond risked alienating the nation’s largest diaspora should a home rule crisis ever occur. That such a situation developed in 1914 is an established fact. That it was the product of Redmond’s own naivety is open to conjecture. ‘Home Rule from a Transnational Perspective: The Irish Parliamentary Party and the United Irish League of America, 1901-1918’ explores the Irish Party’s subordination of its American affiliate in light of the ultimate demise of constitutional nationalism in Ireland. This book fills a void in Irish American studies. To date, research in this field has been dominated by Clan na Gael and the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood, particularly the transatlantic links that underpinned the Easter Rising in 1916. Little attention has been paid to the Irish party’s efforts to manage the diaspora in the years preceding the insurrection or to the individuals and organisations that proffered a more moderate solution to the age-old Irish Question. Breaking new ground, it offers a fresh and interesting perspective on the fall of the Home Rule Party and helps to explain the seismic shift towards a more radical approach to gaining independence. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in Irish America, diaspora studies, Irish independence, and/or home rule. It complements the existing historiography and enhances our knowledge of a largely understudied aspect of Irish nationalism.
The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy offers a powerful criticism of the inconsistencies of representative democracy. Described both as "the Hobbes of our age" and as "the philosophical godfather of Nazism," Carl Schmitt was a brilliant and controversial political theorist whose doctrine of political leadership and critique of liberal democratic ideals distinguish him as one of the most original contributors to modern political theory. The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy offers a powerful criticism of the inconsistencies of representative democracy. First published in 1923, it has often been viewed as an attempt to destroy parliamentarism; in fact, it was Schmitt's attempt to defend the Weimar constitution. The introduction to this new translation places the book in proper historical context and provides a useful guide to several aspects of Weimar political culture. The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy is included in the series Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought, edited by Thomas McCarthy.
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