Ireland and crisis governance: continuity and change in the shadow of the financial crisis and Brexit

Abstract

Ireland’s relationship with the European Union (EU) has, since 2008, been tested by an enduring and complex series of economic and political crises. The contributions to this special issue examine these EU-linked crises through a variety of Irish perspectives, including the impact on public opinion, environmental policy, migration policy, foreign policy and the state’s positioning on Brexit. In the introduction to this special issue, we review how the Irish-EU nexus was challenged by and responded to the financial crisis and Brexit. This sets the scene for a deep examination of how other crises have been experienced in Ireland; how collectively these developments have challenged Irish-EU relations; and what this means for patterns of Europeanisation and de-Europeanisation across different policy sectors and political settings. In this context, we highlight an evolving political and economic landscape of both continuity and change in Ireland where the relative influence of the EU, in the shadow of crisis, is determined by discrete political circumstances and policy specific dynamics.