National Sovereignty, Borders and the European Union (EU): the Case of the Island of Ireland

The globalization of economic life, the restructuring of the international economy since the 1970s and after the most recent 2008 economic crisis have generated a new social and scientific interest in territorial boundaries. Research on the Island of Ireland has been focused on the economic, social and spatial restructuring of the Irish territorial border, rather than on the influences that served historically to consolidate and/or undermine national sovereignty in the region. In addition, the prolonged impact of the conflict on Northern Ireland, and on the border regions in particular, jointly with the disruptive power of Brexit have now renewed the significance of the border. The rather different national projects of the British and Irish governments vis-a`-vis the European integration project intersect in Northern Ireland and in the Irish border regions. Irish governments have consistently supported European economic integration and have not been unduly concerned about loss of national sovereignty to Brussels. This approach is and has always been in sharp contrast with the position of the British government towards the EU. By bridging European, Regional and Border Studies with multispatial metagovernance theories, this chapter will explore historically how the Irish territorial border has reflected not only the impact of over two decades of European Economic Integration, but also the consequences of violent ethno-national conflict over the same period. By the means of semi-structured elite interviews and archival evidences, findings will reflect on regionalism and on the role of cross-border co-operation in centralised states, reflecting on how evidence from Ireland can suggest that pressures for greater regional autonomy at the European level, based on ethno-national identity principles, may have the effect of strengthening, rather than weakening, the territorial assertion of sovereignty by national states.