Beyond the Border. Richard Humphreys
BORDER
THE GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT AND IRISH UNITY AFTER BREXIT
RICHARD HUMPHREYS
For all victims of violence related to the conflict in Ireland – their legacy must be a peaceful and accommodating future.
First published in 2018 by
Merrion Press
An imprint of Irish Academic Press
10 George’s Street
Newbridge
Co. Kildare
Ireland
© Richard Humphreys, 2018
9781785372056 (Paper)
9781785372063 (Kindle)
9781785372070 (Epub)
9781785372087 (PDF)
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
An entry can be found on request
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
An entry can be found on request
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved alone, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Interior design by www.jminfotechindia.com
Typeset in Minion Pro 11/15 pt
Cover design by River Design
Cover front: Northern Ireland Parliament and Government building in Stormont, Belfast (Nahlik/Shutterstock.com).
Contents
The Architecture of the Agreement
Rights, Safeguards and Equality of Opportunity
Validation, Implementation and Review
The Evolution of the Agreement
The Second Assembly: 2003–2007
The Fourth Assembly: 2011–2016
The Sixth Assembly: 2017 Onwards
Re-incorporation of Northern Ireland Post-unity, Post-Brexit
Current Terms of Draft Withdrawal Agreement
The Challenges of Brexit
The Invisible Border
Divergent Rights Protections
The Risk of Divisions
Creating an Incentive to Undermine the Agreement
The Risk of Repeal of the Human Rights Act
Attitudes to a United Ireland
CHAPTER FOUR
The Implications of the Agreement for the Discussion of Irish Unity
Reconciliation Does Not Require Nationalists to Cease to be Nationalist
The Agreement Anticipates a Pathway to Unity
The Test for Unity is 50 Per Cent + 1
There is No Requirement for Unionist Consent to Unity
There is No Arbitrary Date for a Border Poll
The Agreement Rules Out Joint Sovereignty, Independence or Repartition
The Good Friday Agreement is Intended to Endure after Unity
Northern Ireland Remains, to an Extent, British in Perpetuity
CHAPTER FIVE
Bedding Down the Agreement
The 2017 Breakdown of Devolution
Making Devolution Work
Preventing Future Deadlock
Rights and Identity Issues
CHAPTER SIX
Beyond Working the Institutions
Extending Devolution
Developing the Agreement’s Institutional Architecture
Developing Wider Sets of Relationships
A Possible Constitution for Northern Ireland
Promoting Inclusiveness on the British Side