Annotation |
The prospect of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union in 2019 casts a shadow on the already unstable peace in Northern Ireland, the British exclave in the northeast of the island of Ireland. The impeding Brexit reprioritizes the issue of border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It not only reveals rifts in British-European relationship; it also exposes the latent discord in Northern Ireland.
PRIF Report No. 146 “Northern Ireland: The End of the Story? The Peace Process and the Brexit” by Bernhard Moltmann outlines the approach, framework conditions and course of the Northern Irish peace process as well as the signs of its impeding collapse. It also shows the challenges that a Brexit poses for continued peaceful relations in Northern Ireland. In a long-term perspective, attention should be given to eventually redesigning the political map of the British Isles – although that has little chance of short-term success because of the current lack of ideas and political assertiveness in Northern Ireland. |