Border polls and politics: Young People and the Future of the Irish Border in Post-Brexit Northern Ireland

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaper

Abstract

The Brexit referendum accelerated debates over the shape, meaning and future of borders in the UK and beyond. Questions on border futures have been particularly pronounced across the island of Ireland where border politics and identities are often fractious. Since the partition of Ireland in 1921, the Irish border has been a place of contestation, where change needs to be navigated sensitively. The Brexit process has introduced a new wave of political instability. Efforts to circumvent a hard border on the island of Ireland were criticised by Unionist communities who instead saw an Irish sea border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. Recent alterations to border policies have been enough to bring local government back, yet border questions remain. Calls for a border poll to assess the constitutional future of Northern Ireland have gained momentum. Amid all these debates there is a notable absence of young voices and perspectives at the negotiating table. Unable to vote in the 2016 Brexit Referendum, young people in Northern Ireland were delivered an uncertain future where borders and boundaries are being reimagined. This paper seeks to build an understanding of how young people, aged 16 to 24 all part of the post-Good Friday Agreement generation, are feeding into border futures in Northern Ireland. It uses qualitative data from a three-year project exploring the impact of Brexit on identity, citizenship and mobility in Northern Ireland.
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusUnpublished - 29 Aug 2024
EventThe RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2024 - Royal Geographical Society and Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
Duration: 27 Aug 202430 Aug 2024
https://www.rgs.org/research/annual-international-conference

Conference

ConferenceThe RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2024
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityLondon
Period27/08/2430/08/24
Internet address

Keywords

  • Young people, Brexit, Irish border, Polls

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Border polls and politics: Young People and the Future of the Irish Border in Post-Brexit Northern Ireland'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this