Reconfiguring Solidarity: Identity and Pro-Palestinian Activism in Post-Conflict Northern Ireland

This paper examines the relationship between identity and solidarity among pro-Palestinian activists in Northern Ireland in the aftermath of 7 October 2023. Drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews, it analyses three interrelated dimensions: (i) activists’ understandings of transnational solidarity; (ii) the role of social background in shaping experiences of activism; and (iii) the effects of solidarity activism on the construction of collective identities. Historically associated with the Republican movement, solidarity with Palestine during the period of the Troubles was largely articulated through perceived parallels of resistance and oppression between the Catholic/nationalist/Republican (CNR) community and Palestinians, positioned in opposition to the Protestant/Unionist/Loyalist (PUL) community and Israel. While Northern Ireland remains a deeply divided society, the passage of time since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement has facilitated greater political engagement among activists from historically opposed social backgrounds. In particular, an increasing number of younger individuals raised within PUL communities now participate in Republican and leftist organisations and engage with causes traditionally aligned with Republican politics, including pro-Palestinian activism. At the same time, younger CNR-raised activists articulate critical positions toward Sinn Féin’s stance on Palestine, indicating a generational rupture within Republicanism itself. Consequently, although the pro-Palestinian movement continues to be politically and symbolically linked to Republican ideology, the social composition of its participants is more heterogeneous than the historically imagined “Republican family” of the Troubles and its immediate aftermath. This diversification represents a significant development within the landscape of Northern Irish social movements, with important implications for rethinking ethno-national divisions among activists. Solidarity with Palestine is increasingly moving away from inherited ethnic identity, reflecting broader transformations in the meaning and practice of Republicanism, in post-conflict Northern Ireland.