The Irish Question and British Politics, 1868-1996

British History in Perspective

by David George Boyce

The problems of modern Ireland have attracted the attention of many British political leaders from Gladstone to Major. Attempts to formulate a 'solution' have been governed by the British perception of what the problem is, and by the structures, as well as the ideas of British party politics and British political life: Ireland was never a laboratory in which dispassionate political experiments could be conducted. Modern Ireland has been shaped by British policy, and this has itself been influenced by British political habits and traditions, social and economic reforms, and new governmental institutions have been applied by politicians both of the left and the right. The 'Framework Documents' represent the latest attempt to achieve what Gladstone, David Lloyd George and Neville Chamberlain sought, and failed to achieve: a lasting settlement of the political divisions within Ireland, and between Ireland the Great Britain. This book places the Irish question in the wider context of the history of the British Isles, and thus seeks to explain its special place in British history as the 'Oldest Question', and as a question for contemporary Britain. Fully revised and with a new chapter to bring the analysis up to 1996, this new edition of Professor Boyce's work will be widely acclaimed.

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

David George Boyce is a graduate of the Queen’s University of Belfast, where he also researched for his PhD. He is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He was an Archivist in the Department of Western Manuscripts, Bodleian Library Oxford, 1968-71, and then lectured in the Department of Politics and International relations in Swansea University from 1971 until 2004. He has written books and articles on modern British, Irish, imperial and military history and politics.

Reviews

[Zainab Athumani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good account and analysis of the issue, incredibly dull writing.

[yovichka · Rating 2 out of 5]

english exam, you know the drill

irish troubles troubled me to say the least