Beyond Good Friday - by Paul S Adams (Hardcover)

About the Book

This book analyzes challenges of the Good Friday system of Northern Ireland and explores future constitutional options.

Book Synopsis

The impact of Brexit on Northern Ireland's governing institutions has pushed consideration of the constitutional future and status of the region to a level of salience unthinkable just a decade ago. While Brexit has fundamentally changed the trajectory of Northern Irish politics, an understanding of what the future of governance might look like is no longer theoretical. Beyond Good Friday: Governance Possibilities in Post-Brexit Northern Ireland investigates and analyzes not only the challenges of the existing political institutions for the region but considers and explores dimensions of the numerous options that could fundamentally change Northern Ireland's constitutional status and governance model. While unification with the Republic of Ireland or maintaining the status quo as part of the United Kingdom are the conventional choices, Paul S. Adams explores and assesses other options, including co-sovereignty, which while previously rejected, may, along with other alternatives, need to be reconsidered considering changing social, economic, and political conditions in post-Brexit Northern Ireland.

Review Quotes

"A bold and thought-provoking work, Beyond Good Friday outlines new ways of thinking about the future of Northern Ireland. It ought to be read by policymakers and political scientists interested in moving beyond the tried-and-failed confines of ethnic governance. Wide-ranging, yet finely honed, Adams's book brings research up to date and makes a compelling case for revising received wisdoms." --Cillian McGrattan, Ulster University, Northern Ireland

"Paul Adams' Beyond Good Friday is an important contribution concerning the future of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Providing a comprehensive analysis of the Good Friday Agreement, its achievements, problems, and limitations, Adams proposes several options to amend or replace the GFA, to make the system more representative of and responsive to the needs of the people of Northern Ireland." --Tony Novosel, University of Pittsburgh, USA

About the Author

Paul S. Adams is associate professor of political science at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, USA. He specializes in comparative politics and international relations, specifically the politics of Europe, Northern Ireland, the European Union, and of non-majoritarian forms of democracy including neo-corporatism and consociationalism.