Interpreting the Northern Ireland protocol: the politics of distrust

This article explores some of the impacts of Brexit on governance in Northern Ireland. A devolved region administered by a fragile and often fractious consociational system, Brexit, and, in particular, the fundamental legislative mechanism through which Brexit is implemented, the December 2020 Northern Ireland Protocol, have worked to increase division across several levels - the inter-governmental, that of regional party politics, and that of grassroots, inter and intra-communal relations. To complicate matters further, that distrust has also markedly manifested itself in the growth of non-aligned political dynamics. Drawing on the work of Pierre Rosanvallon, I suggest that these developments can be conceptualized with reference to ideas about counter-politics and distrust.