The effect of Brexit on the unification of Ireland

Abstract

While Northern Ireland voted against Brexit, the constituent country was forced to leave the EU, hence the many ramifications on its affairs. This research explores how Brexit shifted the balance closer to Irish unification. It first establishes a stalemate regarding unification and how this stalemate was broken. Drawing on different papers, literature, and books, this research examines the effect of Brexit on identity, consent, and destabilization of Northern Ireland. We find that Brexit has converged the unionist identity with the English identity contributing to its decline locally. We also find that Brexit destabilized the country and violated the principle of consent. These findings are analyzed and their effect on the political context is specified, concluding their effect on Irish unification as a result. The main conclusion of this research is that Irish Unification is now contingent on non-aligned parties who could look to unity as a ticket back to the EU, but that is reliant on the success or failure of the Northern Ireland Protocol.