The state we're in: imagining a new republic; the challenge to Irish nationalism

Abstract

Burgess seeks to offer something of an invitation to both nationalists (and unionists) to ‘reimagine’ and ‘own’ the changing political landscape rather than have events dictate to them. He posits the view that Irish nationalists—north and south—must be prepared to re-examine (and perhaps compromise) treasured shibboleths established from the formation of the Irish state and before. In doing so, he argues, Ireland can move forward with the imagination and courage of a state no longer mired in the politically infantile legacies of the twentieth century: Revolution and rebellion, church-state controls and post-colonial inferiority complexes.