Irish Republicanism and the Politics of Identity.

SoulandForm

I know that the fact that this is from a Celtic FC zine will make a lot of people think "hypocrites!" but actually this article sums up a lot of what is wrong in Northern Irish politics brilliantly.

http://talfanzine.info/blog/2013/04/22/irish-republicanism-and-identity-politics/


".....Following the French Revolution in 1789 the ideal of citizenship was not based on race or ethnicity. Any individual born in France had the right to French citizenship. In Ireland the idea of one state for Catholics, nationalists and republicans and another for Protestants, unionists and loyalists represents the antithesis of statehood and citizenship. Incidentally this is why the idea of a ‘two state solution’ in Israel/Palestine is also a flawed one. Inclusivity is the hallmark of stable nation states. That is why identity politics which is based by default on competing identities leads to an impasse.....

.....We need to question the politics of national identity and cultural diversity. The loyalist flags protest is an example of identity politics in action. Identity politics and the politics of cultural diversity results in competing claims and a never ending demand for recognition. It freezes inter-communal relations in a continuous present of mutual distrust and hostility. It is an approach that embeds sectarianism.

Embracing identity politics is misguided. For example many Celtic fans lauded the late Paul McBride QC as one of our own yet he was one of the key instigators of the Offensive Behaviour at Football legislation and as such an authoritarian and illiberal.

It is important not to confuse expressions of national identity and cultural nationalism with assertions of political independence and self-determination. An identity can be adopted or assumed. It is transitory and superficial. Independence is a quality that is hard earned. You are either independent or not. Republican communities traditionally valued their political independence. They were defined by it. It was more than an identity."

RandomName2

SoulandForm wrote: »

I know that the fact that this is from a Celtic FC zine will make a lot of people think "hypocrites!" but actually this article sums up a lot of what is wrong in Northern Irish politics brilliantly.

http://talfanzine.info/blog/2013/04/22/irish-republicanism-and-identity-politics/

I know that talking about the French Revolution in the same context as Northern Ireland is naturally going to produce anachronistic analogies. France
had had quite a barbed relationship with the Church for quite some time, and the revolution that occurred in France was predominantly secular-republican in nature; destroying religion as a marker for national identity. But this was more a class struggle than national one; many French revolutionaries saw the downtrodden across Europe as being a parti to this revolutionary process... even if the liberations provided under Napoleon was not quite what had been advertised.

Northern Ireland on the other hand is completely different. It was not defined by class, but by religion and cultural-nationalism. Republicans in Northern Ireland are not secular, but almost universally Catholic. Unionists meanwhile are predominantly Protestant.

Unionism was a response to Irish bids for independence (or Home Rule). It was a movement which espoused Northern Ireland nationalism; in opposition to British rule and in contrast to Irish nationalism. As Irish nationalism was defined by Irish national-culturalism, so Unionism was defined by Unionist cultural-nationalism.

Republicans have typically not considered themselves "Northern Irish" as a nationality - for years they did not engage in national politics: partially due to Gerrymandering and the antagonistic policies of Unionists, but also because they did not consider themselves part of that state.

Republican parties sought to join with the Irish state, not reform the one they were in. Republicans waved the Tricolour - proudly proclaiming their disinterest if not outright hostility to the state within which they lived. For years the state responded, not by trying to embrace its alienated citizens, but by treating them as enemies, attempting to copper-fasten their disenfranchisement and force them to emigrate. The civil strife that became the Troubles was all about identity; the cultural warfare where society became fractured and communities turned against one another.

Cultural-national identity was intrinsic to this. I don't see how anybody could successfully argue otherwise. Even today when you have a nationalist calling Northern Ireland "the six counties" or a Unionist calling it "Ulster" it is just part of the same thing. So it doesn't really matter if the flag is a red hand or a union jack, or a tri-colour or a harp, the division is stark; albeit thankfully, currently peaceful.