A 'Shared Society'? Attitudes on immigration and diversity (Research Update 86)
In the past decade, debates on multiculturalism and racial equality have become a more prominent feature of political and social discussion in Northern Ireland. The region has been home to a number of small but well-established ethnic minority communities for a number of decades, most notably the Indian and Chinese communities which have been in the region since the 1930s and 1960s respectively. However, the 2004 expansion of the European Union (EU) facilitated the further arrival of thousands of individuals from new member states, notably Poland and Lithuania. Moreover, lessening levels of violence and a relative economic stability, especially in the period 1998-2008, made Northern Ireland a more attractive location for migrant workers, and consequently a more culturally diverse society. This is indicated by the results of the 2011 census which showed that 4.5% of Northern Ireland’s population were born outside Great Britain and Ireland, compared with 1.5% a decade earlier (NISRA, 2011). Such changes have occurred in a post-conflict period when government has focused on the need to create both a ‘Shared Future’ and improve access of opportunity and equality for all. Consequently, discussions on respecting and understanding all forms of cultural diversity have become a feature of wider efforts to eradicate the potential for a return to violent conflict. It is pertinent, therefore, that the 2012 Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) Survey acknowledged this through the continued inclusion of a series of questions on immigration and multiculturalism. This research report looks at four specific issues: the data on the EU’s role in driving current migration trends to Northern Ireland, the perceived impact that migrants have made to the region, the levels of contact that respondents have had with migrants, and finally perceptions of current levels of discrimination and prejudice.
Intimate mixing – bridging the gap? Catholic-Protestant relationships in Northern Ireland
Abstract For many years Northern Ireland has been a divided society where members of the two main religious groups, Catholics and Protestants, have limited opportunities to interact due to segregation in their social lives. Attempts have been made to encourage religious mixing through integration in schools, housing, and workplaces predicated on the theory that bringing people together can improve community relations and remove prejudices – known as the ‘contact hypothesis’. However, little is known about those who enter into mixed-religion partnerships often against the wishes of their families and communities. This paper examines the characteristics and attitudes of mixed-religion couples and suggests that they differ in their socio-demographic characteristics and in their attitudes from those who marry within their own religion. These findings add to the weight of evidence from other countries in conflict suggesting that intermarriage has a role to play in contributing to less sectarian views and improved community relations.
Arab Uprisings and the Outstanding Return to Democracy: Tunisia as a Model
In the wake of the Middle Eastern crises, the Tunisian case in focus has been doted as a unique phenomenon being that it was the Genesis of the revolution that ultimately spread across the Middle East like wild fire, but has eventually heralded a new dawn as democracy has incidentally returned to the Empire. This literature therefore looks closely at the extent to which the ‘DignityRevolution’ has been instrumental in the Middle East uprisings, which have brought an end to dynastic autocracies. The literature zeros in on the Tunisian uprising which has attracted global concerns, sympathy and has sparked interests in the international arena. The literature finds that the people hold colossal prospect in the uprising and its resultant effect, as it paved the way for the revolutionist to generate, gather and disseminate information on the condition of the entire region to the international community. The people in this context were of utmost importance and played a very crucial role in the creation of awareness, mobilization of protesters and utmost determining the direction of the uprising and also ensuring a speedy return to democratic rule. The paper submits that the role of the people in ensuring that the ruins of the uprising is not left littering around and democracy restored is highly commendable and should be a model for all other Arab countries involved in the revolution.