Racism and anti-racism in the two Irelands

ABSTRACT

This article addresses institutional understandings of and responses to racism in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, examining the different trajectories and their implications. This comparative analysis assesses state and institutional failure to meet basic obligations under international rights treaties, such as ethnic monitoring in state institutions, equal provision of state services and ensuring adequate responses to racism such as in policing. We draw on this to illustrate how civil society actors have sought and been able to influence institutional actors in the context of these trajectories. Northern Ireland is belatedly influenced by UK law and policy norms, while the Republic was quicker to legislate against discrimination on the basis of race and ethnicity, yet dismantled much of its institutional infrastructure for responding to racism.

KEYWORDS:

• Racism
• anti-racism
• Northern Ireland
• Ireland
• migration
• NGOs

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Bryan Fanning http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8844-0259

Lucy Michael http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6930-8500

Notes

1. Extrapolated from Top 50 most cited Google Scholar search results for ‘racism’ and ‘Ireland,’ 6 June 2016

2. The Equal Status Act (2000) addressed discrimination on nine grounds: Gender, Civil Status, Family Status, Age, Race, Religion, Disability, Sexual Orientation and Membership of the Traveller community.

3. At the time of writing, the Criminal Justice Inspectorate of Northern Ireland were undertaking a thematic inspection on ‘Hate Crime’ in all criminal justice agencies but had not yet published their report.