Those who study and write on Irish foreign policy¹ appear to be divided. Some argue that Ireland’s evolving place in the world has been a function of individual choices. Thus, they map the Republic of Ireland’s course through the choppy seas of international politics by reference to the personalities and preferences of its political leaders and senior officials. These detailed, empirical stories centre, for example, around the efforts of W.T. Cosgrave to redefine the British Empire (Mansergh 1952 and 1975; Harkness 1969), Eamon de Valera’s determination to rewrite the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty and to sustain Irish neutrality (Bowman 1982; McMahon...

The purpose of this chapter is to look at one of the earliest and arguably most powerful narratives in Irish foreign policy – that of the Irish Nation. This narrative was constructed from several discourses related to Irish nationhood and the struggle for political independence. The most central of these debates surrounded competing conceptions of the nation. In large measure, the dominant narrative that was thereby established defined Ireland almost as the reverse image of England and its ‘British’ state. When Samuel Beckett was asked ‘Vous êtes Anglais?’ and he replied ‘au contraire’, he encapsulated the idea that to be Irish...

The purpose of this chapter is to establish the parameters of the second great identity narrative in Irish foreign policy discourse – that of Ireland as a Global Citizen. In the previous chapter attention was focused upon the way in which the construction of Irish nationalism and the independence struggle had provided a frame for Irish foreign policy. This frame prioritised independence, sovereignty, the restructuring of bilateral relations with the United Kingdom and the ending of partition as pre-eminent, indeed as defining foreign policy issues. This chapter, by contrast, will consider how a vision of Ireland and Irish foreign policy has...

The purpose of this chapter is to outline the development and potency of the third grand narrative in Irish foreign policy identified by this study, that of Ireland as a European Republic. The narrative of the European Republic is based upon a particular conception of sovereignty. This narrative argues that the Irish are part of a distinct regional ‘family’ and underlines the limited nature of the Irish state’s capacity to shape its external environment. In pursuit of that capacity – faced with a range of external challenges (such as globalisation, international environmental threats etc.), it is necessary to acknowledge the limitations...

The purpose of this chapter is to outline the fourth and final narrative identified by this study, that of Ireland as an Anglo-American State. This narrative looks to the English-speaking world as being Ireland’s natural political and cultural hinterland. It also encapsulates a more radical challenge to nationalism than that offered by the narrative of European Republic. Whereas that narrative sees nationalism as being transformed within a co-operative pan-European political project, the narrative of the Anglo-American State is more critical. Curiously, however, its handling of sovereignty is perhaps more traditional, seeing the hard edges of state sovereignty as simply being...

The objective of this chapter is to outline the central political and bureaucratic framework from which Irish foreign policy is constructed and to analyse the significance of its evolution. Traditionally, Irish foreign policy has been seen as a creature of government and thus of the ministers and the departmental officials directly concerned with the pursuit of foreign policy objectives. This chapter will argue that in so far as the executive remains at the centre of the foreign policy process in Ireland, it has itself undergone significant change and faces a number of challenges, some of which are rooted in Ireland’s...

The aim of this chapter is to review the structures, both formal and informal, through which democratic control is exercised over the formulation and conduct of Irish foreign policy. It is evident from the previous chapter that in the 1980s and 1990s the winds of a gentle revolution were sweeping through the corridors of Iveagh House. Some of the resulting change in executive structures, roles and procedures could be seen to be a result of Ireland’s twenty-five-year engagement in Europe and an ever-deepening European policy making framework.

Within these winds of change, however, a second and newer current is also...

The purpose of this chapter is to analyse the interaction of the four narratives when faced with the long-term foreign policy issue of Ireland’s place within the European project and the challenges that have arisen there from. This chapter – and the following two in this section – will begin with an overview of the general lines of the debate and will focus upon the representations of this foreign policy issue through the four narratives. The chapter will then go on to consider the ‘discursive play’ between these narratives as they try to frame the policy debate. The extent to which one...

The purpose of this chapter is to analyse the interaction of the four narratives when faced with the medium-term foreign policy issue of reconciling Irish security and defence policy with the post-Cold War development of Europe’s security architecture. This chapter will again open with an overview of the general lines of the debate and will focus upon the representations of this foreign policy issue offered by the four narratives. The chapter will then go on to consider the ‘discursive play’ between the four narratives as they try to frame the debate and thus seek to establish their own dominance and/or...

The purpose of this chapter is to analyse the interaction of the four narratives when faced with the short-term policy issue of the 2003 war in Iraq. This chapter will again open with an overview of the background to the invasion and will focus upon the representations of this conflict offered by the four narratives. It will then go on to consider the ‘discursive play’ between the narratives as they try to frame the debate surrounding particular policy challenges, UN authorisation for military action against Iraq and the use of Shannon Airport as a US military refueling and transit hub....

We began this exercise asking how one might outline a picture of Irish foreign policy. Clearly the dominant approach that we have at our disposal is one based upon an excavation of ‘national interests’ (or ‘raisons d’etat’) and the subsequent pursuit of rational explanations for human behaviour. These approaches have traditionally added much to our knowledge of human nature and human relations. A very different approach, by contrast, is rooted in understanding rather than explanation – an understanding of ourselves and those around us: what does it mean (if anything) to be ‘Irish’ in today’s world and what shared beliefs are...