institute of europe
the institute of europe of the russian academy of sciences
Analytical paper No 5, 2024 «Referendum on Irish unity: chances and prospects»
- 04 March 2024
IE RAS presents Analytical papers of IE RAS No 5, 2024 «Referendum on Irish unity: chances and prospects» (in Russian) by Oleg Okhoshin, Candidate of Science (History), Senior Research Fellow of Centre for British Studies, Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
At the beginning of February 2024 the power-sharing system in Northern Ireland was restored. After two years of disagreements, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the UK government came to an agreement under which London revised the Windsor Framework and the unionists continued to work in the Northern Ireland Assembly and appointed their representatives to regional executive power. For the first time in history the post of First Minister of Northern Ireland was allocated to the nationalist leader M. O’Neill, who led SF to victory in the Stormont elections in May 2022. She announced a “decade of opportunity”, by which she meant the prospect of NI secession from the UK and unification with the neighboring Republic of Ireland. The implementation of this strategy could undermine political stability in the region and cause a new crisis of power.
