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‘This we will Maintain’: Gender, Ethno‐Nationalism and the Politics of Unionism in Northern Ireland[Note 1. Research for this article was made possible with the ...]
Author(s) -
Racioppi Linda,
O'Sullivan See Katherine
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
nations and nationalism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.655
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1469-8129
pISSN - 1354-5078
DOI - 10.1111/1469-8219.00006
Subject(s) - politics , nationalism , political science , gender studies , northern ireland , identity (music) , order (exchange) , dimension (graph theory) , political economy , sociology , law , economics , ethnology , physics , mathematics , finance , acoustics , pure mathematics
This paper examines the gendering of unionist national identity in Northern Ireland through an analysis of organizations that are central to unionist politics today. While the commonplace observation that unionist women are ‘tea‐makers‘ conveys a critical dimension of the gender order within unionism, it does not fully capture the significance of women's contributions to the establishment or maintenance of unionism. The article analyzes how Stormont constituted an ethno‐gender regime, examines unionist women's political engagement during the Stormont era and under direct rule, investigates how the peace process and Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement have affected the unionist ethno‐gender order and the gender politics of unionism, and explores the possibilities for political transformation.