Navigating the implications of power-sharing regimes: Power-sharing and (de)securitization in Northern Ireland and South Tyrol

Situated at the interplay between the fields of ethnic politics and security studies, this paper explores the interaction between power-sharing institutional arrangements and processes of (de)securitization, comparing the case studies of Northern Ireland and South Tyrol. At times without a government and currently addressing the ongoing developments of Brexit, Northern Ireland might epitomize the problems of divided societies and the challenges faced by power-sharing mechanisms. Instead, South Tyrol, an Italian province with German and Ladin-Speaking populations and a complex power-sharing system to protect their cultural features, is usually considered a model to resolve ethnic tensions. I explore new insights on power-sharing, comparing how in these two cases power sharing empirical practices interplay and foster (de)securitization, which refers to the process through which an issue is considered (or not any longer) as an existential threat. I analyze to what extent, how and on what terms (de)securitization dynamics have unfolded vis-à-vis the presence of diverse communities and the power-sharing context. Understanding securitization as a speech act, I trace (de)securitizing moves and their historical evolution as they have developed in the electoral manifestos of the main political parties in Northern Ireland and South Tyrol since the implementation of power-sharing institutions.