The UK's decision to leave the EU has opened up huge existential questions for Northern Ireland as it marks its centenary. Constitutional conflict in Northern Ireland had been regarded as largely resolved and settled, but Brexit has altered the wider constitutional framework within which the 1998 Good Friday Agreement is situated. With the question of Irish unity gaining renewed and sustained traction, and with trade, relationships and politics across "these islands" in a state of flux, Northern Ireland approaches a constitutional moment. Murphy and Evershed examine the factors, actors and dynamics that are most likely to be influential, and potentially transformative, in determining Northern Ireland's constitutional future. This book offers an assessment of how Brexit and its fallout may lead to constitutional upheaval, and a cautionary warning about the need to prepare for it.

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. How does Brexit change Northern Ireland’s system of government? Could it unravel crucial parts of Northern Ireland’s peace process? What are the wider implications of the arrangements for the Irish and UK constitutions? Northern Ireland presents some of the most difficult Brexit dilemmas. Negotiations between the UK and the EU have set out how issues like citizenship, trade, the border, human rights and constitutional questions may be resolved. But the long-term impact of Brexit isn’t clear. This thorough analysis draws upon EU, UK, Irish and international law, setting the scene for a post-Brexit Northern Ireland by showing what the future might hold.

Brexit will have significant consequences for the country, for Europe, and for global order. And yet much discussion of Brexit in the UK has focused on the causes of the vote and on its consequences for the future of British politics. This volume examines the consequences of Brexit for the future of Europe and the European Union, adopting an explicitly regional and future-oriented perspective missing from many existing analyses. Drawing on the expertise of 28 leading scholars from a range of disciplines, Brexit and Beyond offers various different perspectives on the future of Europe, charting the likely effects of Brexit across a range of areas, including institutional relations, political economy, law and justice, foreign affairs, democratic governance, and the idea of Europe itself. Whilst the contributors offer divergent predictions for the future of Europe after Brexit, they share the same conviction that careful scholarly analysis is in need – now more than ever – if we are to understand what lies ahead for the EU. Praise for Brexit and Beyond 'a wide-ranging and thought-provoking tour through the vagaries of British exit, with the question of Europe’s fate never far from sight...Brexit is a wake-up call for the EU. How it responds is an open question—but respond it must. To better understand its options going forward you should turn to this book, which has also been made free online.' Prospect Magazine 'This book explores wonderfully well the bombshell of Brexit: is it a uniquely British phenomenon or part of a wider, existential crisis for the EU? As the tensions and complexities of the Brexit negotiations come to the fore, the collection of essays by leading scholars will prove a very valuable reference for their depth of analysis, their lucidity, and their outlining of future options.' - Kevin Featherstone, Head of the LSE European Institute, London School of Economics 'Brexit and Beyond is a must read. It moves the ongoing debate about what Brexit actually means to a whole new level. While many scholars to date have examined the reasons for the British decision to leave, the crucial question of what Brexit will mean for the future of the European project is often overlooked. No longer. Brexit and Beyond bundles the perspectives of leading scholars of European integration. By doing so, it provides a much needed scholarly guidepost for our understanding of the significance of Brexit, not only for the United Kingdom, but also for the future of the European continent.' - Catherine E. De Vries, Professor in the department of Government, University of Essex and Professor in the department of Political Science and Public Administration Free University Amsterdam 'Brexit and Beyond provides a fascinating (and comprehensive) analysis on the how and why the UK has found itself on the path to exiting the European Union. The talented cast of academic contributors is drawn from a wide variety of disciplines and areas of expertise and this provides a breadth and depth to the analysis of Brexit that is unrivalled. The volume also provides large amounts of expert-informed speculation on the future of both the EU and UK and which is both stimulating and anxiety-inducing.' -Professor Richard Whitman, Head of School, Professor of Politics and International Relations, Director of the Global Europe Centre, University of Kent

The Ireland-Northern Ireland Protocol, part of the Withdrawal Agreement concluded between the European Union and the United Kingdom, is intended to address the difficult and complex impact of Brexit on the island of Ireland, North and South, and between Ireland and Great Britain. It has become an exceptionally important, if controversial, part of the new architecture that governs the relationship between the UK and the EU more generally, covering issues that range from trade flows to free movement, from North-South Co-operation to the protection of human rights, from customs arrangements to democratic oversight by the Northern Ireland Assembly. This edited collection offers insights from a wide array of academic experts and practitioners in each of the various areas of legal practice that the Protocol affects, providing a comprehensive examination of the Protocol in all its legal dimensions, drawing on international law, European Union Law, and domestic constitutional and public law. This title is also available as Open Access.

This timely book provides the first sustained examination of cross-border relationships since the momentous sequence of events that began with the Good Friday agreement of 1998. It looks at changing patterns of North-South relations in three broad domains: politics and public administration, the economy, and civil society. Specific topics covered include the cross-border implementation bodies, the island economy, the voluntary sector, education, health, planning, public policy, and the EU. The book draws on findings from a two-year research project embracing a large, multi-disciplinary team based in Dublin, Belfast, Dundalk, and Armagh. The book also sets recent changes in perspective, outlining the evolution of cross-border relationships between partition in 1920 and the recent comprehensive settlement, and exploring the extent to which leaders North and South remained in denial about the evolving impact and implications of the border until the closing decades of the 20th century. The authors demonstrate how the search for a settlement in Northern Ireland has created a new dynamic in cross-border relationships, underlining the critical importance of these relationships in sustaining the peace process. In a trenchant assessment of future prospects, the book stresses the extent to which new North-South relationships have been dependent on external funding from the EU and the US. It argues that the diminution of these funds potentially threatens the sustainability of successful cross-border programs, putting the onus on the two governments to develop a more coherent and strategic approach to cross-border co-operation.

This book examines how Ireland's relationship with the EU was affected by a succession of crises; the financial crisis, the migration crisis and the Brexit crisis, in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The various crises were not of equal significance on the island of Ireland. The financial crisis was a huge issue for the Republic but not Northern Ireland; Brexit had a major impact in both polities; the migration and populism issues were less controversial; and foreign policy challenges had a minimal impact. The book provides a summary of the main features of each of the main crises to be considered, from both the EU and the Irish perspective. It also explores a number of policy areas which are central to the understanding of each of the crises and the impact each crisis has had for Ireland. Chapters examine issues such as security, migration and taxation as well as protest politics, political parties, the media, public opinion and the economic impact of each of these crises on Ireland's relationship with the EU. The book is also the first of its kind to provide a comprehensive analysis on British-Irish relations in the context of Brexit assessing in particular the Withdrawal Agreement and Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland, the devolution settlement and the 1998 Agreement as well as the European dimension to Northern Ireland's peace process. Leading academics from Ireland, the UK and the EU have combined to provide a thought-provoking book which will be invaluable to anyone interested in contemporary Irish politics and economics. Analysts of the EU, particularly those interested on the impact of the financial crisis, populism and Brexit on Ireland's relationship with the EU will also find it essential reading.