EU structural fund programmes on the island of Ireland: Interreg and the cross-border dimension

Lagana, Giada 2021. EU structural fund programmes on the island of Ireland: Interreg and the cross-border dimension. Holmes, Michael and Simpson, Kathryn, eds. Ireland and the European Union Economic, political and social crises, European Politics, Manchester: Manchester University Press,

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Abstract

The globalization of economic life, the restructuring of the international economy since the 1970s and after the most recent 2008 economic crisis, have generated a new social and scientific interest in territorial boundaries. Research on the Island of Ireland has been focused on the economic, social, and spatial restructuring of the Irish territorial border, rather than on the influences that served historically to consolidate and/or undermine national sovereignty in the region. In addition, the prolonged impact of the conflict on Northern Ireland, and on the border regions in particular, jointly with the disruptive power of Brexit, have now renewed the significance of the border. The rather different national projects of the British and Irish governments vis-a`-vis the European integration project intersect in Northern Ireland and in the Irish border regions. Irish governments have consistently supported European economic integration and have not been unduly concerned about loss of national sovereignty to Brussels. This approach is, and has always been, in sharp contrast with the position of the British government towards the EU. By bridging European, Regional, and Border Studies with multispatial metagovernance theories, this chapter will explore historically how the Irish territorial border has reflected not only the impact of over two decades of European Economic Integration but also the consequences of violent ethno-national conflict over the same period. By means of semistructured elite interviews and archival evidence the findings will reflect on regionalism and on the role of cross-border co-operation in centralised states, demonstrating on how evidence from Ireland can suggest that pressures for greater regional autonomy at the European level, based on ethno-national identity principles, may have the effect of strengthening, rather than weakening, the territorial assertion of sovereignty by national states.

Item Type:	Book Section
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Cardiff Law & Politics Department of Politics and International Relations (POLIR)
Subjects:	J Political Science > JA Political science (General) J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) J Political Science > JZ International relations
Publisher:	Manchester University Press
ISBN:	978-1-5261-6142-0
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	21 October 2022
Last Modified:	09 Dec 2022 18:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/153656

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