Explaining Irish Democracy

Author:   Bill Kissan
Publisher:   University College Dublin Press
ISBN:  

9781900621694


Pages:   304
Publication Date:   14 May 2002
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   Out of stock   Availability explained
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Explaining Irish Democracy


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Overview

This is a systematic account of why Ireland remained democratic after independence. Bill Kissane analyzes the Irish case from a comparative international perspective and by discussing it in terms of the classic works of democratic theory. Each chapter tests the explanatory power of a particular approach, and the result is a mixture of political history, sociology, and political science. Taking issue with many conventional assumptions, Kissane questions whether Irish democracy after 1921 was really a surprise, by relating the outcome to the level of socio-economic development, the process of land reform, and the emergence of a strong civil society under the Union. On the other hand, things did not go according to plan in 1922, and two chapters are devoted to the origins and nature of the civil war. The remaining chapters are concerned with analyzing how democracy was rebuilt after the civil war; Kissane questions whether that achievement was entirely the work of the pro-Treatyites.Indeed, by focusing on the continued divisiveness of the Treaty issue, the nature of constitutional republicanism, and the significance of the 1937 constitution, Kissane argues that Irish democracy was not really consolidated until the late 1930s, and that that achievement was largely the work of de Valera.

Full Product Details

Author:   Bill Kissan
Publisher:   University College Dublin Press
Imprint:   University College Dublin Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 2.80cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.590kg
ISBN:  

9781900621694


ISBN 10:   190062169
Pages:   304
Publication Date:   14 May 2002
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock   Availability explained
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

Table of Contents

Democratic theory and the Irish Free State; economic development and democracy in Ireland; the Barrington Moore thesis and Irish political development; civil society and democratic practice under the union; voluntarist democratic theory and the origins of the civil war; the Durkheimian interpretation of the Civil War; reshaping the Free State - De Valera and the rise of constitutional republicanism; Majority rule and the constitutional development of the Free State 1922-37.

Reviews

A masterly and reasonably accessible study of the birth and development of the Free State ... His statistics throughout are fascinating. Books Ireland Summer 2002 This book will...serve a useful purpose in that it will suggest further areas of research, into areas such as the origins of the civil war, and the role of the British in that context. Irish Democrat Oct/Nov 2002 contains a very good exploration of the development of pre-independence civil society, and suggests plausibly that a combination of British constitutional values, British associational culture and the civil-society-encouraging nature of the British state itself, played key roles in laying strong foundations for Irish democratic consolidations ... this remains a book which makes a very helpful contribution to ongoing debates about the emergence and consolidation of Irish democracy. Irish Political Studies 18 (1) 2003 This is a welcome and long overdue study of how Irish democracy was successfully stabilised and consolidated. Nations and Nationalism 9 (4) 2003 an excellent and thought-provoking work which deserves a wide readership among those interested in Irish politics and history, democratic theory, democratization processes and comparative politics in the most general sense. Democratization 2003 Addressing readers with a basic knowledge of Irish politics, Kissane's arguments are well reasoned, clearly stated and readily accessible to critical appraisal ... provides a solid foundation for a new and promising path of enquiry. Allan Zink, Strasbourg West European Politics 2003 A fascinating study, theoretically sophisticated and empirically rigorous, this book is essential for anyone interested in democratisation in general and in Irish democratisation in particular ... it demonstrates the utility of adopting the comparative method in the analysis of a particular case and the always potentially creative tension between the general and the particular. Irish Studies Review 12 (3) 2004


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