> It does, however, have the advantage of making the British feel better about themselves - 'It's not imperalism that's the problem, it's those violent lunatic Irish'.
These days, the view from the southern political establishment isn't terribly far off from that, either (although substitute "Nordies" for "Irish", since they aren't really seen here as being fully Irish, at least not in the same sense as the civilised Irish on this side of the border).
> Sinn Féin, by the way, have now come to accept the tribal analysis though they never really say so, giving up on the tradtional republican demand for national autonomy and the uniting of the people of Ireland.
Well, I think that relates to my point above. It has long been an article of faith of nationalist/republican Ireland that the desire of the Irish people is for reunification and that partition is therefore a denial of self-determination (or national autonomy as you put it). It's questionable to what degree that is still the case, however. Opinion polls still regularly show large majorities in favour of reunification but these polls never seem to ask anything more than the most basic yes/no question - if people were asked do you want reunification now, or do you want to wait until there's a majority in favour in the North, or some other qualifying question, I suspect that you would now find a significant proportion, and quite possibly a majority, who are happy enough to maintain the status quo.
Wojtek wrote:
> What political causes do you have in mind? Are you suggesting, as
Jason does, that the Brits are keen at maintaining the residual of their
once great empire (formerly-Great Britain, as one columnist in Baltimore
wryly commented) by keeping their grimy paws on the North? I do not find
that very convincing, because the North looks more like a liability than an
asset - at least from this side of the pond. Especially that the South
seems to be doing quite well economically nowadays. And what other than the
Brits political causes are there?
I'd largely support Jason's response to this question, but I wouldn't underestimate the desire of *some* elements of the British ruling class to maintain what's left of their 'empire'. Look at their desperate attempts to undermine the ascendant Scottish National Party - it's not just the North Sea oil they're trying to hold onto.