Political Geography Research

Research Interests

I retain an active interest in political developments in many parts of the world, but my resaerch interests are mostly confined to Ireland or to thematic topics related to my Irish interests.

• The national conflict in Ireland. Like most northerners, I have a deep personal interest in the conflict between nationalists and unionists in Northern Ireland. This has led me to explore the origins of nationalism and unionism in Ireland and to trace how the evolution of each ideology has impacted upon the other. I am also interested in the various ways in which the conflict is articulated at different spatial scales.
• The growth of nationalism. I have an interest in the historical evolution of nationalist ideologies more generally. Although some nationalist ideas have a long ancestry, I would regard modern nationalism as having evolved out of the French revolution in the late 18th century and the drive towards German unification in the 19th century. I do not believe that nationalism developed in these areas at this time just by accident, but rather was a product of forces generated by the industrial revolution and the growth of industrial capitalism. Nationalism diffused rapidly from these core areas to other parts of the world, to the extent that it is now difficult to imagine the world organised without nation-states as the locus of sovereignty.
• Political conflicts. I am interested in political conflicts in other parts of the world, particularly those which pitch one community against another. However, I am also interested in territorial disputes between neighbouring states, and conflicts between states and internal opposition groups.
• Geopolitics. I have a fascination with classical geopolitics, and the attempts by geopoliticians to devise grand theories to guide the global strategies of the superpowers.
• Electoral geography. I have been mapping election results in both Northern Ireland and the Republic for almost 30 years. The overall patterns of support do not change much, but there are interesting shifts within unionism and nationalism in Northern Ireland, and within as well as between the major parties in the Republic. Elections provide an important barometer of changes in public opinion (even though their interpretation is by no means unproblematic).
• Electoral systems. Northern Ireland and the Republic each use the Single Transferable Vote (STV) method of Proportional Representation, although Northern Ireland has used no fewer than three different electoral systems in recent elections (i.e. STV, 'first past the post' for Westminster, and a sort of list system for the Northern Ireland Assembly). I am very interested in the impact of the electoral system used in different countries upon the outcome of elections and, in a more general sense, upon the party system which develops. I am also very interested in how the division of space for electoral purposes can be used to manipulate electoral outcomes.

Research Students

I had to give up all my teaching in Political Geography in 1997 because of commitments in other areas (especially computers). I have consequently had no opportunity to interest research students in Political Geography. However, one of my former students came back to 'haunt' me in 1999 and I became the supervisor for his doctoral thesis on factors influencing voter turnout in elections in the Republic of Ireland. This was successfully completed in 2002.

Publications

I have probably published more academic articles on Political Geography over the years than on all my other academic interests combined. Some were simple descriptive interpretations of the results of a general election or a referendum, whilst others provided more substantive analyses of the Irish national conflict or attempts to resolve it (e.g. the Peace Process). Almost everything I have published has been about Ireland. At some stage I would like to write two books: one about the growth of nationalism, and the other about territorial conflicts. However, this is not likely to happen unless I can combine my research with a return to teaching Political Geography courses.

My most substantive work to date was a book which evolved out of the Political Geography of Ireland course called One Island, Two Nations?

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