How Ireland Voted 2002 provides an in-depth analysis of the Irish general election. Continuing an established series of election studies, it sets out the context of the campaign, assesses the impact of the political parties' marketing strategies, and presents first-hand candidate campaign diaries. It analyzes voting patterns employing both aggregate data and survey evidence, discusses the post-election negotiations leading to the formation of the new government, and considers the implications for the future of the Irish party system.
In this book, the sixth in the highly regarded How Ireland Voted series, leading Irish political scientists examine what happened; analyse the election results, the opinion poll evidence and the media coverage to establish why it happened; and assess the long-term significance.
This book is the definitive analysis of the 2016 Irish general election and is the eighth book in the well-established How Ireland Voted series. The 2011 election in Ireland was characterised as an earthquake, but the aftershocks visible in the 2016 election were equally dramatic. This election saw the rout of the government that had presided over a remarkable economic recovery, and marked a new low for the strength of the traditional party system, as smaller parties and independents attracted almost half of all votes. The first chapter sets the context, and later ones investigate the extent to which the outgoing government fulfilled its 2011 pledges, and how candidates were selected. The success or otherwise of campaign strategies is assessed, the results and the behaviour of voters are analysed, and the aftermath, when it took a record length of time to form a government, is explored. Other chapters examine the consequence of new gender quotas for candidate selection, consider the reasons for the unusual success of independents, and reflect on the implications. The book also reveals intriguing insights into the candidates’ experiences of the election, both successful and unsuccessful. It will be of use to students, teachers and scholars of Irish politics, as well as the wider reader interested in Irish politics and elections.
When Fine Gael entered a coalition government with Fianna Fáil in 2020 the party did what would have been unthinkable for its forefathers, who had fought and won a bitter civil war to establish the institutions of an independent Irish state almost a century earlier. Saving the State is the remarkable story of Fine Gael from its origins in the fraught days of civil war to the political convulsions of 2020. Written by political journalist Stephen Collins and historian Ciara Meehan, Saving the State draws on a wealth of original historical research and a range of interviews with key political figures to chart the evolution of the party through the lens of its successive leaders. From the special place occupied by Michael Collins in the party's pantheon of heroes to the dark era of the Blueshirts, and from its role as the founder of the state to its claim to be the defender of the state, the ways that members perceive their own history is also explored. Saving the State is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding how Fine Gael came to be the party it is today, the ways in which it interprets and presents its own history, and the role that it played in shaping modern Ireland.
Containing contributions from leading names in British politics, this review continues to publish front-rank research on parties, elections and voting behaviour in Britain.
This book provides a comparative overview and account of how the parties in Western Europe have perceived contemporary challenges of electoral dealignment and how they have responded - whether organizationally, programmatically, or institutionally.
This is an introduction to the best available scholarship within Irish politics, featuring the most influential and significant articles which have been published on Irish politics during the past twenty years. Each article is accompanied by a new commentary by another leading scholar which addresses the impact and contribution of the article and discusses how its themes remain crucial today. The book covers all the most important topics within Irish politics including political culture and traditions, political institutions and parties and the peace process. The combination of the best original scholarship and contemporary commentaries on the core political issues makes Irish Political Studies Reader an invaluable resource for all students and scholars of Irish politics.
Politics in the Republic of Ireland is now available in a fully revised fourth edition. Building on the success of the previous three editions, this text continues to provide an authoritative introduction to all aspects of politics in the Republic of Ireland. Written by some of the foremost experts on Irish politics, it explains, analyzes and interprets the background to Irish government and contemporary political processes. Crucially, it brings the student up-to-date with the very latest developments. New patterns of government formation, challenges to the established political parties, ever-deepening, if sometimes ambivalent, involvement in the process of European integration, a growing role in the politics of Northern Ireland and sustained discussion of gender issues are among these developments – along with evidence, revealed by several tribunals of enquiry, that Irish politics is not as free of corruption as many had assumed.
The collapse of the Irish 'Celtic Tiger' economy, in the wake of a banking disaster, provoked a joint EU/IMF rescue plan in late 2010. The election that followed saw Europe's most successful ever party lose more than half of its vote and almost three quarters of its seats. This book provides the definitive analysis of an electoral earthquake.
